Asylum
by Falling Stars and Dark Moons
Summary: The Fairy Tail Institute is a place where children who have committed horrible crimes are sent to protect the world from them. Or is it? Lucy Heartfilia, a girl with a dark past, knows the truth, and she has been fleeing Fairy Tail for seven years. All hope Lucy has is lost when she is captured and sent to Fairy Tail. But can finding some dark secrets lead to a new hope of escape?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, here is your updated Chapter 1, as promised! It now has 4,041 words, which is about 1,700 words more than before. Thank you for sticking with me even through the unfortunately long break when I completely lost inspiration and motivation. I hope this will make up for that. Enjoy, and please review and give your feedback!**

* * *

 **Year:** X785

 **Location:** The Abandoned Heartfilia Estate

As the sun sank into the mountains in the distance, painting the sky the color of pumpkin's a quiet, grim argument was happening. Five figures hurried forward in the fading light, the silhouette of an abandoned mansion behind them as they paced through a garden long gone, barren save for the weeds thriving among the desolation. "Oi, Bunny Girl, are you _sure_ you want to do this?" A man, appearing to be in his early twenties, with wild black hair and piercings glinting dully in the light of the fading sun narrowed his red eyes intently at the blonde teenager in front of him. She stormed forward, not even bothering to even glance over her shoulder as she hissed the word:

" _Yes_!" She strode with more attitude and purpose still, trampling weeds and branches in her wake, but it wasn't like he could blame her after what they'd all been through. But despite that fact that it was easier to hold back her tears, despite the fact that she was now finally able to push back the worry eating away at her heart, she was never one to sit back and let her friends do everything. And she wasn't alone. The three kids trailing behind them, stumbling over the complete mess of a lawn, never deserved to be involved in any of this, and yet they were willing to do anything it took. _Just like that annoying Salamander_ , he thought sourly.

The girl suddenly stopped. "Right here," she declared with certainty. It was a tranquil spot in the garden, with a dying willow and flowers shriveled into faded husks, the small pond nearby drier that a desert. Right by the willow was a cracked gravestone, the weathered statue of a now faceless and cracked angel still guarding the decomposed remains of Layla Heartfilia. The spot she tapped with her boot had a very slight dip in the ground. Without even bothering to see what they thought, she hefted the shovel half-covered in rust and crusted dirt, and began to dig furiously, all the anger and pain showing in her eyes, which were beginning to look black in the dusk. It seemed she traveled all of it into her hands as she began to dig up the earth and weeds with a fervent effort. Her four companions stood dumbfounded for a moment; the man was the first to snap out of it. He reached forward to stop her. "I don't want help!" she snarled, and the man recoiled, "I have to do this by myself!"

"No you don't," he growled back, "I'm pretty sure that moron wouldn't want you pushing yourself to extremes just because he couldn't haul his ass out of there on time. Where's the Bunny Girl that was always positive, huh? The one the idiot worked so hard to bring back?" He kicked a dandelion full of seeds, scattering them a few feet out before they settled back into the overgrown grass crookedly. Secretly, it pained his to speak this way; it always had. But it was the only way to help other people right now without breaking down from the wight of _his_ burden.

 _"You don't understand!"_ Shit, she's starting to cry again, " _How would it be if it was you and Levy? My best friend might be_ dead _, and I might never know either way!"_ Tears were streaming down her face, her eyes blazing like the fires that her beloved pyromaniac friend would start. _"A-and he's practically your sibling-g! How can y-you n-not care, Gaj-jeel?"_ Bunny Girl could say some cruel things when she was angry, or when she was worried about her friends, and seeing as she was both... _shit_. Gajeel could feel the rage building up, but he decided that provoking a fight would not be the best idea. She _did_ have a shovel at her disposal. She stomped forward, crushing the dandelion seeds Gajeel had scattered moments before.

"Believe me, it's agonizing," he spoke gravelly, but with desperate urgency, "but is anger going to bring back the dead? No! Levy wanted me- no, she wanted us _all_ to live! And Salamander wants you to be happy! Nothing brings back the dead, and all five of us know that too well! And besides, that moron is too stubborn to die! Believe me, I know my stupid cousin..." he added as an afterthought. For a reason unknown to him, he had reached forward and seized a branch of the decaying willow, waving it around for emphasize. He felt foolish after his rush faded.

His companion stopped her work, a stunned and ashamed look on her face. She deftly wiped her tears away. "Y-your right. I'm sorry..." she muttered.

"It's alright, Lucy!" The girl with dark blue hair tied up in pigtails with faded, moth-eaten ribbons stepped forward. "Natsu will be back. And then we can finally be a family with you!" Then she turned slightly red and looked down shyly. The smaller girl beside her sighed affectionately and shook her head.

"You must liiike him, Lucy!" The last member of their party teased, smiling cheerfully despite the situation.

"Stupid catboy! Just because I'm feeling better doesn't mean you can keep saying that stupid thing! Who even taught you that crappy line anyways?"

The mood was much lighter as the five took turns digging the hole, talking with an only slightly subdued cheer. When they were finally done, the placed the box with the clue and the notes to Natsu from all of their friends, then the pseudo-gravestone. "That's it then- I guess it's time," Wendy sighed.

"Yeah," Lucy confirmed, taking her pack from Gajeel, "the most difficult part of our crazy-and-probably-stupid escape plan begins."They all had mixed feelings about the next part of their adventure to redemption and freedom. To Carla and Happy, they were being forced to grow up because the world would need their help to make it the bright place they couldn't even remember from so long ago. To Gajeel, he would have to leave the guilt behind and learn to live happily. For Wendy, she was beginning to learn how to fight her own battles, for her family and friends, both living and deceased. And for Lucy, it would be a trial larger than carrying the guilt of the person she had killed, alone, for seven years. It was the pain of leaving a loved one behind.

But none of them were afraid as they walked away from the abandoned manor without so much as a glance back. As they faded into the night, back into the world that hated them, they came to terms with all of the trauma, and allowed themselves to become stronger than ever before.

They would all need it for the journey ahead.

* * *

 **Time:** X777

 **Location:** The Heartfilia Estate

"Lucy, child. It's time to wake up." Lucy's eyes opened slowly, to find the Heartfilia household's maid, Ms. Spetto, gently shaking her awake, the room bright as the morning sun filtered through the light blue flower patterned curtains. "Good morning! Hurry child, your father requested you and your sister in his study before he goes out for an inspection." Ms. Spetto helped the young heiress out of bed and walked over to wake Lucy's younger sister, Michelle. Lucy quickly ducked through the door and made her way to the bathroom through the boring creme colored halls with portraits of Lucy's family that made her wistful for her now dead mother- as much as she liked the servants employed during the day, and as young as she was... she wanted to be independent. She refused to accept any help from her father who was only faking things. She had to be strong for Michelle, seeing as their mother had died several years earlier from a mysterious cause.

As Lucy walked out, feeling fresh and clean, Michelle wandered in, curly caramel hair messy and sticking up everywhere, her blue-green eyes drooping sleepily and doll clutched tightly in her arms. Michelle smiled, and for a moment Lucy saw how much Michelle's smile was like their mothers, small bittersweet grin. "Lucy, we get to see Daddy today!" Lucy internally sighed, not wanting to tell her sister that it wasn't that they finally got to see him, it was more like he was willing to see them for once.

"Yeah!" Lucy returned the grin as she hurried back to their room and put on a nicer set of clothes, knowing all too well if she didn't, her father would disapprove and send her that chilling, belittling look that made her feel like a tiny mouse.

()-()-()

Before she knew it, she had helped Michelle tie her shoelaces, breakfast had been eaten in a hurry, and they'd been rushed in front of the huge, ominous white door leading to their father's study. Both girls gulped as Ms. Spetto opened the door. "Mr. Heartfilia sir, your daughters are here."

"I would like to speak to them alone," came their father's reply; after that, the two were gently nudged into the study. Lucy and Michelle walked in, Head's pointed slightly downwards, as the very much feared desk came ever closer. The room itself seemed cold, with the tall bookshelves filled with endless black volumes. The study was long, the carpet plain gray, with a single ornate rug as a fanciful path towards the doom known as the desk. Lucy winced as she remembered the bad memories associated with it: it was the place where they were told of Layla's passing, it was the place where Michelle was always called worthless, it was the place where Lucy found out that her father didn't care about either of them anymore.

Clearly Michelle also remembered all of this, as her sweaty hand smacked Lucy's palm, grasping a few fingers for reassurance. Lucy smiled weakly at her sister as they approached the desk. They hesitantly looked up to see Jude's dark eyes glaring down at them as usual. "I will be going to the Institute to help discipline those brats that are even worse than you. The servants will be gone, and I expect that none of you will try anything. You don't want to be more terrible than insane, murderous children, _do_ you?"

Lucy and Michelle nodded frantically. Jude didn't even bother to emphasize anything this time, he just continued as if they weren't worth it. "The servants have prepared your food, and that is what you will eat. That is the _only_ thing you may eat. And if I find out that you have been anywhere _near_ my study, there will be severe consequences. _Understood_?" Once again they nodded. "If only I had been blessed with _sons_ , but instead I got pathetic daughters..."

* * *

Lucy and Michelle dismally waved goodbye to the servants of the house as they slowly began to stream out of the house, amiably chatting about their plans for the short holiday. All except for one: Ms. Spetto. Lucy had no clue why; they probably looked just as miserable as they always did after the short meetings with their dad. The belittling lectures hadn't been any worse than usual, and the only blow dealt through the entire exchange was when Jude had realized that Michelle had brought "that grubby, useless toy" into his study and had slapped her, the doll gracefully sailing out of her bright pink sleeved arms as she reeled back, silvery tears flinging into the air as she hurriedly rushed to grab the doll. Lucy could understand- it was one of the only things their mother had left them. According to Layla, Jude had even gotten the supplies for that doll, even throwing in suggestions, back in his better days.

Lucy had learned that the things you wish for don't always come true. So the only sorrow she had felt was seeing her sister's tears silently slide down her bruising face, tracing glimmering trails as they splattered upon the cloth curls of the Michelle dolls faded stitch smile and embroidered blue eyes.

Jude gave them one last deathly glare before exiting the house. _I really wish the servants knew that Dad isn't out for an inspection,_ Lucy thought sourly. But despite that, she turned cheerfully to Michelle. "Why don't we play?" she asked her sister, who's eyes immediately lit up.

"Yay!" Michele tapped the bandage one of the maids had put over her bruise after applying some ointment. When Lucy began to leave, the kind maid demanded to know how that had happened. Michelle had fumbled with her words, so Lucy had quickly stepped in, using an excuse that had probably already been used, but whatever. Lucy wouldn't worry about that, when she had a full day- hopefully- to spend time with her sister without Jude interfering.

It was great fun for two small children- running around the empty mansion's creme, portrait filled halls, screaming nursery rhymes and exchanging random jokes and riddles. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star!" Michelle joyously screeched. "How I wonder what you are!" Lucy responded eagerly. It didn't matter if they were hoarse for days afterwards, as long as they had fun while they could. The knocked over mahogany bookshelves, frantically placing the bland looking black volumes. They played with the various flower patterned curtains and draperies, trying to name the plants on them.

And indeed, their voices did become hoarse afterwards. So they settled down, braided each others hair, then untied it and had a contest to see who could have the most ridiculous hair. They ended up snapping hair ties, snapping clips, and bending the teeth of combs, evidence of their wreckage surrounding them. Lucy took some strands of hair and pulled two strands on her face, on top of the skin between her nose and lips. After that she adopted what she hoped was a mean, scary expression and turned to her sister. "Look Michelle! I'm Dad the meanie!" Michelle giggled and imitated her, but failing to adopt a scary face.

Afterwards, they browsed through the few picture books while eating the delicious food they had been left. The dining room had cheerful lemon walls, and a strangely simple light fixture. "And so," Lucy spoke dramatically, "the little mermaid and the prince lived happily ever after as fair rulers of the magnificent kingdom by the sea." She closed another book and added it to the pile of the ones they had already read, realizing that that had been the last one. Michelle clapped, cookie crumbs spewing from her mouth. "You know, Michelle..." Lucy trailed off.

"What Wucy?" Michelle asked, still chewing on a cookie.

"If we ever get to go out there I think... I want to write a story like this!" Lucy beamed excitedly. If she thought about it, the idea really appealed to her. With her only company being Michelle and her books, it was like her imagination was budding into something truly wonderful.

"Really?" Michelle grinned back, "you should! And then maybe Daddy won't call us useless anymore."

"Yeah... that's true. That's my goal then! To show Dad that we can be great! Wait!" Lucy held up a hand, "I just realized! What if there's someone new!"

()-()-()

"Guess what, Michelle? There _is_ a new one!" Lucy plopped down next to Michelle and set an open folder on their laps. "Five people!"

"Wow... I feel really really bad for them..." Michelle trailed off thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Lucy's eyes skimmed the papers, "I do too." Careful to keep the papers in the correct order, they looked through them, read their story, which was much darker than the fairy tales that they had read earlier. "Look Michelle," Lucy said, "that little girl, Wendy is the same age as you."

"She must be really strong to have been through that..."

"Strong where?" Lucy looked at her sister and smiled when she saw Michelle point to the left side of her chest. It was a heartwarming feeling, to see that her five-year-old sister had become such a thoughtful person at her age rather than crumple under the cruelty. "You're right. If she's anything like you, I'll bet she's super strong!"

Michelle's face flushed proudly, and then suddenly darkened. "Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"We've read these stories of all these other kids that Dad calls crazy... will they get a happy ending?"

"I hope so Michelle... I really do."

* * *

The bathroom was full of chatter as Lucy sopped up the water Michelle had dripped as she exited the tub, too impatient to wait for a towel. The walls gleamed immaculately, a blue stripe running around the four walls, a fancy light fixture dangling cheerfully from the ceiling, casting bright light that reflected off of the multi-colored bottles of soap and shampoo."Ah, I'm so glad that's finally done. Michelle, can I never do that again, please!" Lucy huffed as she got up and squeezed the excess water out of the rag she had used to clean up the soapy water on the floor of the bathroom into the sink. "Next time, please wait for a towel."

"Okay!" Michelle agreed cheerfully, before yawning loudly.

"Are you tired?"

"I guess," she rubbed her eyes, "can we go to bed now?"

"Sure, it's pitch black outside, and I'd rather not be awake when Dad gets back." Lucy pulled the blanket over Michelle's sleepy form, then clambered into her own bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a while before falling asleep. Not long afterwards, Michelle too, fell into a pleasant dream.

It would be Michelle's last.

* * *

Lucy woke up to a peculiar noise, yet familiar noise. As her ears cleared, she registered what it was, and she leaped out of bed with fury in her heart. Sure enough, in the corner of the room she shared with her sister, Michelle was being beat- with a metal _cane_. Why would he even have that? Then Lucy saw another detail that made her blood pounding furiously in her ears, Jude's raging screams and Michelle's wails defined by the resounding boom calling for her very soul to take notice- her father was waving a knife.

It was like a dagger from one of the stories she would read with Michelle, like the weapon of a valiant pirate. But this dagger, almost silhouetted by the dim light bulb, hanging from a dull, dusty red wire looked evil. Lucy could see the serrations in the blade, reminding her of the teeth of a monstrous man-eating shark. It gleamed darkly, almost looking black. The blade was straight. Lucy could sense the coldness coming from the blade, the very sight of it made Lucy think of all the evil words that could describe it.

She came back to reality, seeing her sweet, innocent little sister bloodied and bruised like never before, her small from heaving with sobs, blood and water running as one like a war-stained river down her face that was plastered with sweaty, messy caramel curls. Her eyes were dark and sorrowful, pleading for the torture to stop. Her nightgown was torn in several places, blood trickling down the light pink cloth, staining it crimson. Her lip was cut and puffy, and their was an almost vertical slash of cruelty below one of her eyes, trickling the substance of life. The bandage had been smacked off, leaving a bruise of a sickly purplish color.

Ignoring Jude's expression that promised a murder in the most brutal method, Lucy ran across the room and shoved Michelle out of the way, closing her eyes so tight she could almost see scarlet splatters like those on the carpet dancing through the nothingness. The metal struck her shoulder and she cried out, hand flying to the injured spot, wincing as she scrambled out of the cane's way.

But her father merely ignored her as he continued screaming at Michelle, while Lucy shouted for him to stop. The air was mingled with the sounds of shattered peace, shout and screams full of hatred, and wails of complete agony. _"What did you tell that wretched servant?"_ Jude screeched furiously. He brought down the cane again.

"I-I'm so-sorry, Dad-dy..." Michelle wailed, her arms reaching up to block the blow, only for the bloodied sleeves of her nightgown to get shredded more. _She must have told Ms. Spetto,_ Lucy realized, _which was why she was looking at us that way..._ Lucy's mind blanked to a single, ominous thought: _We're dead tonight._

 _"I could_ kill _you! I will kill you!"_ Their father screeched, a vein throbbing violently on his temple, as if white hot rage was coursing violently through his veins rather than his blood. Horror seized Lucy, freezing her in place in absolute terror as that dark, glinting evil sailed down in a drastic, deadly arc as it sunk hilt-deep into her beloved's little sister's chest.

Time seemed to move along like a slug as Lucy saw a crimson flower of blood bloom among the silky pink of Michelle's nightgown. The blood was roaring in Lucy's ears so loudly that the anguished shriek that her sister gurgled was muted as if Jude had smacked a pillow over Michelle's face. Lucy stood in horror as she saw tiny, glistening droplets of blood gush out of her sister's mouth, like a fountain of murder. But once she saw the tears streaming down Michelle's face, the look in her eyes dark and glassy with despair as her small hands twitched around the blade sunk into her convulsing body, the timeout ended.

The scream that tore itself from Lucy's throat was unearthly, a wild beast of trauma and grief and hopelessness desperate to run rampant. To Lucy, it seemed that her mind had blackened completely, as pure instinct took over. Her feet pelted forward at the speed of sound her eyes filled to the brim with cold fury, she was a comet of vengeful sorrow. With another unnatural shriek, she rocketed into Jude, forcing him to the ground. "I'm sorry, Michelle, but this is for you!" she shouted furiously, and Jude's eyes widened when he saw she had also grabbed the knife he'd impaled his daughter with. With a final cry, she plunged the knife into his form, not caring about the blood that splattered her, she just continued stabbing, again, and again, and again. She couldn't here anything except for the sickening plunge of the slippery knife into ragged flesh.

She only realized the magnitude of what she'd done when she realized her father had stopped breathing. Her first thoughts were abject terror at the terrible sin she'd just committed. Her father blood completely covering the knife, her hands, and her nightgown. She felt a sudden surge of pounding guilt, swallowing her whole like a tsunami. Bile was forced up her throat as she saw the sight of a torn dress shirt, entangled with flesh and muscle torn as if it was gory shredded paper. Remembering her sister, she rushed to Michelle's side. Her sister's once brilliant blue-green eyes ha dimmed and darkened; now they were the shade of a dusty sapphire that they had seen in a fairy tale. Michelle's beautiful caramel curls were matted with her own blood, her breathing quiet and ragged. Lucy's tears and the blood on her nightgown gently rained upon the dying little girl. The only thing Michelle could do was utter in a barely audible voice, "t-take... doll..." before the small bit of life left inside her took flight, her eyes still open, still the cover of that mysterious old treasure that she and Lucy had seen only earlier in the day...


	2. Chapter 2

**I was actually quite surprised at how well my story was received. Thank yous go to Guest and GummiBears824 for reviewing. I was inspired to write the second chapter, though I probably should be studying for my Algebra 1 semester final or practicing my piano music instead. Oh well! And, by the way, I was aware that I did make several mistakes on the last chapter. I did proofread this chapter, but if there are anymore mistakes, I apologize. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 _(Seven Years Later)_

It was a sunny day in Crocus as the people of the colorful city went about their day, people streaming in and out of the shops lining the streets. Travelers stopped along the roads, in awe of the grand royal palace that stood above them in the distance, the masterpiece of Crocus's beautiful skyline. The air held the scent of flowers and spices, and the tables of sidewalk cafes were crowded with people, enjoying the variety of food there. The day seemed like it could be nothing but perfect, at least for most people.

There was a figure in a black cloak with ragged edges moving swiftly and stealthily through the shady alleyways of the bustling city. The figure was slightly shorter than most of the adults traveling the streets, and wore a pair of worn leather boots, one of the only things that could be seen from the cloak. Some blonde hair peeked through the hood, a pale hand gripped the cloak, and large brown eyes glinted darkly from the shadows of the cloak's hood.

Lucy Heartfilia was still internally debating with herself if traveling through _here_ of all places was such a good idea. When she was in Hargeon, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being tailed; from the past seven years of her life, she guessed she really _was_ being followed, so she decided to take a risk and come to Crocus, the "flower blooming" capital of Fiore. They would never expect her to come here, _that_ she knew, but all the same, there were most likely guards along the streets who could easily spot her and alert the authorities. She knew what would come next if that were to happen.

 _No. Don't think about that. Just stay here, sort yourself out, and then stay someplace hidden for the night, then move on. If someone attacks, attack back. Just repeat the same thing you've been doing for the past seven years._ She sighed. Even after all this time, the life she led was a miserable one, but not as miserable as her childhood. Technically, she was still a child, but for Lucy, that life had ended the moment she plunged that knife into her father's heart. _Wrong again,_ the voice in her head reminded her, _You never had a childhood. The moment you were born, you suffered. That's your fate, to suffer fore-_

"Shut up!" she yelled, _out loud_ , to the voice. She immediately looked around, to see if anyone had heard and discovered her. She sighed in relief once she found there was no one. Taking a few moments to collect herself, she drew her hood over her face and moved out from the alley quickly, looking for a place that wasn't too busy so she could eat. Instinct took over, and she found a perfect place, tucked into a corner of Crocus. _Bar Sun_ was the name. Lucy opened the door and walked in slowly, and it seemed to the people inside the bar like a dark, miserable shadow had entered.

The bar quieted just a bit, as if it was taking a breath, and then the chatter and gossip resumed. Lucy made her way over to the bar, where six bar stools stood, two of them were occupied by two clearly drunk men and Lucy, noting this, sat as far as them as possible.

The bartender came up to her and said, "Well, what is it you want?"

"Water and some food, if you have any," Lucy spoke clearly, pulling back her hood slightly to look the bartender right in the eyes.

"Are you sure that's al-" the man was interrupted by the two drunk men.

"Hey blondie," one of the men spoke with a slur in his voice, "you don't have to be lonely... come over here, and entertain us!" The men had dirty looks in their eyes.

"No," Lucy spoke coldly. She had dealt with these type of men many times. Unfortunately, she'd had to kill several of them, but she reasoned that the world was better off without them anyways, "Unless you want to get hurt..." she trailed off quietly.

"Ooh..." the other drunk spoke, "Girly wants a fight does she...?" He drooled, attempting to pick up a dirty spoon, his hand twitching a bit before he managed to grab it, holding it by the spoon part, waving it around absurdly.

The other one, who was either more sober or more determined, tried to grab her, by a part of her that clearly showed the latter...

It happened so fast that no one had time to comprehend it. One minute, the first drunk man was stretching out to grab her by something forbidden, the next, he and his wasted companion were knocked out on the floor, and Lucy was standing in front of them, glaring. The bar was completely silent and everyone in the bar stared at the hooded girl in wonder. "I told you that you would get hurt," she told their unconscious forms. There was a small clang as the dirty spoon the second man had been brandishing a minute before fell to the wooden floor of the tavern. Lucy looked the man behind the bar directly in the eyes, a steely look in _her_ eyes as she responded to the bartender's question. "Water and food. That's all I asked for," then a pale hand reached out and emptied coins onto the bar, "and yes, I can pay for it." The bartender moved quickly into the kitchen as Lucy swiftly moved back to her stool, settling herself back down and drawing the hood over her forehead again. The noise of the tavern resumed.

* * *

Eight minutes later, the bartender arrived with a glass of water and a platter with some sandwiches on it. "Thank you," Lucy said, surprising the man. He observed her as she took sips of the water between bites of the sandwich. Lucy glanced down at the men. _I probably shouldn't have done that,_ she told herself, _I'm sure it's very suspicious. But, I did what I had to do. Now I eat, I get out of here and find a hiding place for the night, then leave the city at before dawn tomorrow._

Unfortunately for Lucy, everything went wrong in the time frame of a ten minutes. The doors of the bar opened and Lucy, slightly paranoid, nervously glanced to see who it was. Her stomach plummeted as three men entered in uniforms. She recognized those men. They had been the ones trying to follow her trail for the fast few weeks. Lucy had waited for them to move on back in Hargeon, hidden behind some barrels. She was still hungry, but she ignored it. Her mind froze up, terrified of being caught, and being taken to _that place_. Only one voice of reason was left in her mind. _You have to leave,_ now _._ Lucy pushed her food aside and swiftly made her way to the door as the men approached the bar. _Only a few more yards, only a few more fe-_

A hand grabbed her arm. Lucy flinched and turned slowly, clamming up as she saw it was one of them. Tall, with messy brown hair streaked with gray, and an barely shaven face, but intelligent gray eyes. She looked anywhere _but_ those eyes. They would see the truth, Lucy knew it. "Excuse me, miss," he spoke politely, but there was also the undertone of a threat, "but may I inquire as to who you are?"

Everyone in the bar was transfixed as they watched the exchange. "I'm just a traveler," Lucy replied, terrified at how obvious the tremors in her voice were, "I'm just passing through Crocus, and continuing, nothing more."

"I see. Well, if you don't recognize our uniforms," the man said authoritatively, gesturing towards his companions, "we work for the government of Fiore, and right now, our task is to track down and capture for a young woman who committed a terrible crime about... seven years ago. She is known to be traveling around, just as you are." He looked Lucy right in the eye. "Have you seen anything suspicious you might want to tell us?"

"No, I don't," Lucy replied bluntly, "so if you don't mind, I need to be going now."

"Oh, but I _do_ mind," the man said firmly, "In fact, you are quite young looking, should someone as young as you be with your family on such a lovely day?"

"I'm older than I look." Lucy lied.

The man's eyes narrowed. "You're lying." Lucy eyes widened and she gasped as her hood was wrenched of her head, revealing her face to the world. "You don't have a family. You _killed_ them, Lucy Hearfilia. Clear out!" He shouted at all the other citizens in the tavern, and they filtered out, even the bartender, who first summoned all the cooks out.

Lucy stood, shocked for a moment, her eyes darting about, frantically searching for an opening. She panicked as she saw more uniformed trackers entering the bar, trapping her. Finding no other option, she gathered her courage and pulled out two knives, and began madly slashing, maneuvering about, trying to reach the wooden door. But was just too outnumbered. Her hands were grabbed, and held behind her back. Someone dealt a sharp blow to her head. She stumbled and dropped her knives, now slightly dripping with blood. _This is it. I'm sorry, Mother, Michelle. I couldn't escape._

The man smiled in a satisfied way. "They will be pleased," he spoke smugly, "Wilson!"

A young man immediately came forward and saluted. "Yes, sir?"

"Go get a carriage to the Fairy Tail Institute."

The boy saluted again and hurried out of the bar, towards the palace. "Forde!"

"Yes, sir!" A raven haired man hurried up and saluted.

"Search the girl, confiscate everything dangerous. The rest of you, stand guard. I will go up the palace to make my report and return with the carriage going to the Institute." All the men saluted and the one called Forde approached her. "Get that cloak off." he snarled. Lucy unpinned it and a guard snatched it away. Underneath it, she wore a ragged coat, shirt and pants. She had a patched bag slung over her shoulder, which Forde seized, opening it and dumping the contents onto the floor.

There was a large leather pouch with more knives, which Forde tossed to a guard to hang on to. Next, there were several apples, which were quickly eaten by the other tracker's who claimed that they were hungry. There were some spare clothes, which the guards left on the floor, and Michelle's doll. Lucy tried to grab it, but the guards held her back. "What's this?" Forde inquired, his eyes dancing with cruel light, "Do you clutch this in fright and call out for your mommy that you killed in the night?"

Lucy's eyebrows twitched. She was furious. "No!" she yelled, "I didn't kill my mom and Michelle! _He_ killed them! But I killed him!"

By the amused look in his eyes, Lucy knew they thought she was a deranged, homicidal girl making excuses for the killings she committed. "Is that so? Even if you _only_ killed our friend Jude, you've left quite a bloody trail behind you. Other trackers may not have been smart enough to see it, but my superior, William Clark, is the best. You should feel honored that you will be sent to the Institute by him." He smirked. "Take the toy then. I'm sure the Institute will deal with it, and you soon enough."

* * *

Over two and a half hours dragged by and finally, Clark returned with a carriage. Lucy was shoved into the carriage as Clark climbed out gracefully. Inside was an armed guard. The door slammed shut, and the carriage rode off. _So this is it. I'll finally go to that place that I heard about as a little girl. I'll be like the rest of them their, a deranged child criminal._ Lucy looked outside the small window and watched Crocus slowly recede under the blood red setting sun. As much as she tried to deny it, Lucy was exhausted, and her eyes drooped and she fell into a terrifying nightmare.

* * *

 **Well, I'm obviously not good at writing drunk people scenes, but I'd be kinda scared if I was... I have really only seen/read three examples. 1) That one episode of Fairy Tail Ova. If you don't what I'm talking about, you should watch it! It's funny, yet slightly disturbing. And the NaLu moments are pretty good, too. 2) Haymitch from the Hunger Games, but I don't have much to say about that. 3) Hagrid and Slughorn after Aragog's funeral in the Half-Blood Prince. Well, that was... interesting... There, I'm done ranting! Thanks for reading, and please review! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back in action! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this story, I quite amazed with the 12 followers it's gotten. I'm glad I have this time to think about this story and write it out nicely because the pressure's on for me. I have piano auditions at the end of the month and still a lot of work to do, soon I'll have to worry about high school scheduling for the next school year, and then marching band auditions... but that's enough about me! I've realized how OOC I've made Lucy, and being overly OOC really annoys me, so sorry for that! Her personality right now is just a mask, she'll be regular Lucy soon enough. Also, in this chapter Lucy will meet some more people in Fairy Tail!**

* * *

When Lucy woke up, she was lying in a cot with no pillow, a threadbare blanket that smelled strongly of mothballs drawn over her. _That's weird,_ she thought, _am I here already? I'm a light sleeper, I should've woken up by now... and from the way_ he _always talked about this place. I'd figured they would have tortured me a little bit by now..._ Then a couple more details came into play. Her wrists were in cuffs with a chain between them, so that she couldn't move them more than a foot apart from each other. There was also a chain trailing down from her right cuff, held down to the ground right beside the cot. There was a single light bulb hanging haphazardly from the ceiling, and a dirty window, where sunlight was dimly filtering through. The room was plain, with a white bolted door and walls, with light brown wooden trim and a cold white and black tile floor. Lucy figured she would've been shackled to the wall or something from the stories. Or at least a table full of painful tools would be standing ominously before her. But other than the cot, shackles and lock, it was incredibly plain.

Lucy was about to try and go back to sleep again while she could, when the bolt slid away and the door opened. A man with dark ginger hair and an unshaven face walked in. He wore a long black cloak that was extremely ragged at the edges so that the only thing you could really tell about the guy was that he was tall. "So you're awake then," he said grimly. The man had a look in his eyes, intense in a way like something important had been taken from him and he was examining people to see if they had been the one to steal it away. She gulped and nodded once.

The man casually flipped the grimy light switch and the bulb glowed. Lucy took the opportunity to examine him and her surroundings more and gasped when she saw somethings that she hadn't noticed before. Her right hand was wrapped in bandages, and it felt like it had been burned. Something blinked in her head as she remembered something Jude had said about one of the practices of the Institute... sure enough, beneath the bandage, on the back of her right hand, was a pink mark, branded onto her hand. Her stomach churned, repulsion and horror in her heart as she shifted her eyes from the horrible brand. It was the mark of the Institute, meant to show that a person belonged to the dreadful place. Next, her abdomen flared with pain. She lifted her shirt slightly to find bandages over the spot where the pain came from. It felt like someone had stabbed her. She moved her fingers hesitantly to the bandages...

"I wouldn't do that," the man warned. Lucy was surprised to see the man lower his head. "I regret it. Every time I regret it, but if I try to get away there's going to be hell to pay." It seemed like the man was speaking to himself more than anyone. He then glanced at a paper in a file in his hands and then back up at Lucy. "Your name is Lucy Heartfilia, correctt? My name is Gildarts, and, well... I know some things about your father you might want to know."

Her reaction was impulsive, but she meant every bit of it. "No! I know too much about that sadistic bastard already! Whatever you're here for, just do it! I don't need that crap!"

His expression was sympathetic, as if he could ever understand Lucy's pain, but he raised his eyebrows. He spoke to her as he removed the cuffs."It included why he killed your mother and sister."

"Are you sure you're supposed to be saying that?" Lucy glared at Gildarts as she sat up and rubbed her wrists, "because according to every single one of you assholes here, _I_ killed them all."

"No, but I'm _not_ one of them. Just let me explain, I'm trying to help you, and I have limited time."

Lucy scoffed. "Fine."

* * *

 _"Almost twenty years ago, I wasn't a pawn of this place. I had someone that I loved, her name was Cornelia. We weren't married yet, but she was expecting. It seemed like everything would be great for me. I had someone I loved, soon I would have a child, that's all I needed.  
_

 _"But their was still a huge if, but I thought I'd conquered it already. You see, I'd borrowed a large amount of money from a man who worked for the government. His name was Jude Heartfilia. Apparently, the man never really bothered traveling around much, because he never came knocking at my door, asking for the money. All he told me was that the money was due in three years, and he even said no interest. I was hopeful, just a couple hundred dollars left in debt, which I would earn next month and by the time he came back, I would have it paid in full and finally, Cornelia and I would have the burden off our shoulders._

 _"But I was wrong about this man being a good one. It was a cold November day, I remember it very clearly. Cornelia was reading by the fire on our patched chair, I was sitting on a stool I had pulled next to her chair, and I was reading a letter my family had sent me, when_ he _came._

 _"All of a sudden, someone was forcefully knocking on our door, shouting for us to let them in. I thought the voice sounded familiar, so I obliged, and their he was. Jude. He asked me in a rude tone if I had the money, I told him that it wasn't even due yet, but I told him we almost had it. Jude told me he had changed his mind about the due date, and the no interest. Then, the worst part came. He said if I couldn't pay it in full now, that I would be forced to come with him and pay off my debt in labor to the place her worked. Since he was supposedly an important government official, I didn't resist. I was afraid something would happen to Cornelia._

 _"And so, I came here. I was horrified when I found out the whole truth about him, about the place he worked. The Fairy Tail Institute. He gave me the job of 'disciplinary worker,' but I found out pretty soon what that really meant. We had to torture the children, who were supposedly the most evil ones, who had to be contained for the 'greater good' of humanity. I think the worst part of the job is when newcomers arrive, and we have to learn about their terrible pasts, where they were supposedly the villain. Then we have to inflict a wound to remind them of our crime._

 _"That wound though, isn't a reminder of a crime that wasn't really a crime. It's a reminder of what you did to resist them. And being here is what you get for it. There's no escape from this place. These people have even taken the other family members of the other people like me. There's a woman named Mirajane, and they took her sister and brother. Now they have to be stuck in the Institute, tortured. I made Cornelia promise that she'd go and hide so they couldn't get to her or the child in case I messed up. I don't believe I've done anything to cause them to track down Cornelia. I hope not, because you've seen firsthand how good the trackers are, and how they never stop until they've capture their object of search.  
_

 _"I've learned a lot about Jude Heartfilia since I've arrived here. I know that he was unbelievably rich, and that he worked between the government of Fiore and this place to insure that this place would never get caught in their actions. When he was alive, he acted as a year round inspector of the place. I know he lived in Magnolia, which is a few miles from this place. I know he had a wife and two daughters, one of them being you. He abused your mother because he wanted a son, but his wife had two girls instead and got sick soon after your younger sister was born, and she became infertile._

 _"He never let any of you leave in fear of one of you telling something that would result in the crash of this place and a place for him in prison, possibly even capital punishment."_

This whole time Lucy had been silent. She knew now that not everyone in the Institute except for the kids and those who grew up in there was evil. Even the people who were the ones carrying out cruelty were being tortured, and passing the pain on was the worst part. It made her even more furious at her father and his wicked legacy. But, Lucy didn't understand why Gildarts was telling her this about her father. She already knew all of it... "Erm... I already know these things about him. And I really don't want to stay in this hell hole any longer so..."

"Then I'll tell you why he was killed your mother and sister. He was planning to kill you too. Don't you want to know that, kid?"

Lucy's eyes widened as she realized he had reached what she really wanted to know. She nodded.

"He killed your mother and your sister because, apparently somehow, your mother had gotten out of the house sometime and told someone the truth."

 _How is that possible? We were always forced to stay inside... unless..._ there was a small wrench in Lucy's gut as she realized how an odd little situation that had happened a few weeks before that night could've held some light to what Gildarts was saying. She had thought nothing of it at the time, but if Lucy could remember it...

" _Lucy, Michelle, would you like to take a nap?" Layla asked her daughters, coming out of Jude's study. It had been a time for them when Jude had been increasingly demanding about the work they did, but it wasn't always work. He would have long lectures, often shouting and screaming at them. They made Michelle cringe, and Lucy would try to cover her ears so she wouldn't have to hear the hours of Jude's torture. He would berate them for how useless they were, for how he wanted to get rid of them, to_ kill _them. Once Jude realized what Lucy was doing, he would beat her hands until they were bloody and raw. Lucy and Michelle quickly nodded, they were always tired now, sleep would be welcome._

 _It didn't take long. Lucy and Michelle climbed right into bed, not even changing into their pajamas, and Layla tucked them in, kissing their foreheads before leaving. Michelle fell right to sleep, but Lucy restlessly tossed about, trying to get comfortable. Finally finding a good place, Lucy's eyes began to droop. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was hearing the door to the house open, and thinking_ Oh no, Dad's home...

 _The next morning, she woke up, well rested for the first time in weeks. She was surprised that Jude hadn't woken them up to give them a lecture when he had returned. But she had shrugged it off, content with the small streak of good luck. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long..._

"That must have been when _Mom_ went out and told!" Lucy concluded.

"The last time Jude came to the Institute he reported that rumors had been circulating around about the Institute, especially him. The others told him to investigate who gave out the information, and deal with them. Soon he came back and told us they had described the informant as a woman of average height, with blonde hair and ragged clothing. They described that she had a scar on her forehead, " Gildarts explained. Lucy _remember_ ed that scar. She even remember when she got it. "He said that that was it for you all. He said he would kill you all that very night, and then asked if some of _us_ could come and clean it up. But he never came back. I was sent with the search party to his house. We found everyone dead, except you. You were missing. Our investigators tracked the DNA and such and figured that your sister and your mother were being killed, and you killed Jude. All his knives were gone. So was your sister's doll that Jude always complained about."

She suddenly remembered Michelle's doll, handmade by their mother to resemble her, the thing Lucy's sister told her to take before she died. "Where-?"

Michelle's doll was dropped into her lap. Lucy hugged it and felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes; she lifted her hand and brushed them away. "They told me that you reacted to this as if it was extremely important to you, and they told me to destroy it in front of you, in the same way he killed your sister. But I'm not going to do that. Keep it, let it give you hope, and don't fall to the melancholy of this place." Lucy looked up at the redheaded man gratefully. He slightly grinned back at her.

Gildarts opened the blank white door. "Turn left and go down to the end of the hallway. There's a girl waiting for you, to show you around and stuff."

Lucy seized up at the prospect of seeing the child criminals imprisoned in here. Gildarts noticed her expression. "I figured you might have this reaction, many do," he sighed, "In fact, the person that's waiting for you had the same reaction. Don't worry, she's very sweet. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it so that you could be in the same dorm area as she is, just trust me." Then he narrowed his eyes. "The truth is, kid, that not one of those imprisoned here is evil. They are just traumatized kids, forced to fight back at the people from their past. Just like you."

* * *

Lucy nervously made her way down the hallway, noting that they had a _lot_ of these torture rooms, and this was just the left half of the hallway. It was a longer hallway, which Gildarts didn't say anything about. Then she noticed, other people. Lucy froze up. It was a boy supporting another boy who looked to be about her age. The younger boy had to drag the older one along, and he had so many bandages wrapped around him. She gulped. _Goodbye to my tough and self-sufficient Lucy_ , she told herself miserably.

The younger boy was panting. He was small, with tousled bright blue hair and... _blue cat ears_? He had wide brown eyes, and wore a grubby white shirt and blue pants. He had blue and white sneakers that _definitely_ needed to be replaced, and he also had a green sack over his shoulders, which was interfering with his already poor abilities to carry the injured teenager down the hall.

The other boy also had weird hair. It was a light, dull pink and it spiked up all over the place. He had a tanner complexion than the pale blue-haired boy, and his face was contorted in pain. His arms hung loosely down towards the floor; he was clearly either unconscious or headed that way. His clothes were also is a rather poor condition, an orange t-shirt, frayed black shorts, and navy sandals. He also had bandages _everywhere_. It was clear he just been in a similar situation to Lucy's, but much, much worse. Lucy remembered when Jude had described their methods of punishment, threatening her mother, sister, and herself with them.

She wasn't completely for certain about what she was doing, and she still had an abundance of doubts about the kids despite what Gildarts had told her, but this little boy looked like he was struggling, and he reminded her just a little bit of Michelle the one time she had tried to pull their mother away from Jude when he had hit her so much she fell to the ground, and the severe punishment Michelle had received, and Lucy soon after for defending Michelle and shouting at Jude. She stumbled forward, ignoring the pain in her gut. As she neared the two, she heard a small thread of conversation.

"I hate that guy," the pink-haired boy uttered.

The younger one had begun to cry. "Why do they always make you go to Bora? It's like he likes burning you, Natsu. Please, stop burning and destroying things. It won't help us, let alone get us out of here. Did you see how hard Wendy was crying after you gotten dragged away? You were in there for over three days!" _They burn people?_ I thought in horror. Burning someone, it's one of the worse things to do!

"I try to, but I just can't. I've told you before, Happy..."

Happy sighed. "We'll talk about this later, with the others. I'll get you to Wendy, so she can help heal you, or do you want to go lie down?"

"Nah, I need to see my sister first, don't I. I bet the others are worried to, I can't let them worry..."

"Aye." Then the teenager, Natsu, seemed to black out. Happy let out a cry. "This is bad! He doesn't get knocked out unless the pain is really agonizing. Why can't I go faster?" Lucy reached the two and immediately held up the other half of the teenager's body. "Who-? Never mind. I bet you're the new prisoner here..."

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, "just let me help you, it looks like you need it. We can do introductions later." The two carried Natsu to the end of the hallway, where they bumped into another, petite teenager with bright blue hair help back by a ribbon. It was almost the same shade as Happy's.

She smiled at Lucy. "I take it you're Luc- Natsu! Quick Happy, we need to get him to Wendy, quickly!" She gave Lucy a look that clearly said, _I'll show you what you need later. This is urgent, so help us!_ Lucy nodded back in consent.

"I already knew that!" Happy whined. Fear began to bubble up in Lucy's chest. How was she going to survive this place? Although Lucy had spent the past seven years fending for herself, she had always felt somewhat detached from the world. The only people she had to deal with were bad people. She dealt with them by beating them up, and in the most extreme situations, killing them. This though, a world with emotional turbulence and pain, would tear away her defenses. And then, the world would see how weak Lucy Heartfilia really was.

* * *

 **Another chapter is done! And it's my longest one so far. Sorry about the cliffhanger, I feel like Rick Riordan is rubbing off on me. I guess that's what you get for spending so much time in the Percy Jackson fandom. This chapter was hard to write, because I had to talk about a lot of things I haven't incorporated that much into my writing before, and for some reason, I kept subconsciously switching to first person. This chapter was supposed to cover more of the story, but I put Gildarts in there, so that took up more time than I had originally planned. Oh well. Thanks for reading, and please review. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

The three made their way through the dark halls of Fairy Tail quietly, occasionally encountering other people. Lucy shied away from them, she wasn't exactly eager to make friends or anything in this dimly lit, grim place; the two blue haired kids would say hello to some of the people before hurrying away. Some of the older ones would take a glance at Natsu, and rather than looking shocked, they would just sigh and shake their head. Either towing along a tortured person was normal, or the guy was a troublemaker. Lucy wouldn't be surprised if it was a little bit of both.

Despite how hesitant she was to mingle with these people there were some things that she needed to know. And she wasn't going to just wait for answers. "What's your name?" she asked the petite girl. "Where are we going?"

The girl turned to her. "I'm Levy," she panted, "nice to meet you, Lucy!" despite the fact that the girl was clearly struggling to carry her part of the heavy male. "And we're going to your room, of course. It wouldn't be logical to overwhelm you with everyone."

"I get my own room? An actual room?" Lucy couldn't help it. She felt so vulnerable now, her mask of toughness disappearing rapidly; at the same time, it was strangely a huge relief. She no longer had to shield herself from other people. Levy and Happy seemed nice enough. And now that she was here, Lucy felt so _stupid_ for ever feeling like the kids here were crazy and dangerous. She remembered now, how she and Michelle had read the files on the kids, trying to see if there were others like them. And that was the truth. It made Lucy feel miserable though, knowing now that rather than criminals, the kids here were victims.

Which reminded her, Natsu and Happy seemed strangely familiar. _Maybe Michelle and I read about them shortly before..._ Lucy shook her head. Even after _seven_ freaking years, she still couldn't bear to think about either of them.

Levy's voice brought her back to reality. "Well, you share it with one person. It isn't that bad. But everything in them is quite old and broken down. It's not like it's actually nice or anything. You see, I managed to secure a few small pieces of information about this place. From what I gathered, this place used to be an orphanage. A _good_ orphanage. The administrators would never give us something as good as our own rooms. Something must've happened to Fairy Tail to turn it to the _Asylum_ , but I just don't know _what_. I feel like the people here are hiding something important, and that could be the key to escape."

Lucy wasn't so sure about Levy's ideas. Her father had bragged how Fairy Tail was impossible to escape. "Are you sure? My fath- um... I heard rumors about something about something that made the Institute impossible to escape. And why'd you call it an Asylum?"

"An Asylum is the same thing as an Institute, pretty much. But even more so, the administration treats us like we're crazy. They manipulate us, do things to trigger memories of our past. They punish us for doing odd things sometime. And the punishments, they're horrible."

"They treat us like we're crazy because some of us _are_ crazy..." Happy added sadly.

"Oh," Levy said, "I'm sorry Happy, I didn't mean to trigger bad memories."

"It's okay... it's not so much for me anyways. It's just what happened to..."

"Natsu and Wendy, I know. And you were there when _that_ happened, right?"

"Yeah."

"Um..." Lucy said, "I'm sorry, but could you enlighten me? Please?" At this Happy turned away. Lucy immediately regretted it. _Of course I shouldn't have said that. If they're being so vague, it must be hard to mention._ "I'm so sorry, Happy. I didn't mean to-"

"No. It's fine, but I'm sure you don't know what it's like to see the people who have always protected you suffer and there's absolutely nothing you can do."

"Actually, I _do_ know how that feels." Lucy squeezed Happy's shoulder reassuringly as they trudged along. And for a moment, it was like the pain they both had lessened for a little bit. Lucy wondered at how her hesitation was slipping away.

"Sorry you two," Levy said, "but we should hurry up. And well, I'm not really feeling the connection."

"Of course," Lucy said.

"It's just, I do feel awkward when people think about the past because I... I don't have any memory of my past."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," Happy said, "amnesia. Though she does have two friends named Jet and Droy who claim to have been her best friends."

"Wait!" Levy interjected, "Lucy, you said something about rumors going around about the Asylum! What exactly did they say? Who was it?"

Now it was Lucy's turn to change the subject. "I don't really remember much about it. And aren't we supposed to be carrying this guy to this Wendy person? Who is she anyways?"

"His little sister," Happy explained, "and a really good healer. We used to have a doctor, but she was only allowed to fix us up to a certain point and when they found out she was trying to actually help us they took her away."

"Okay, this place is weird." And that was the last thing they said in the hallways.

* * *

Levy shoved a door that said **DORMITORY 2** on it in faded and peeling letters. Inside was a room full of shabby couches and chairs and a few desks. It had large windows with old curtains over them, and it was rectangular. On the left side of the room were a line of doors that with a sign that read **GIRLS**. The right side was the same, except the sign read **BOYS**.

Then she registered the four people in the room, clearly waiting. Three girls and a boy. The teen aged boy stood up, with _nothing_ but his underwear and a necklace with a sword charm on. "Natsu, you idiot! Do you have any-" he paused once he saw the condition the pink-haired one was in.

One of the others, a young girl with dark blue hair in two ponytails rushed forward. "Natsu! What happened to you?" she looked up to Levy, Lucy, and Happy. "Levy, Happy, tell me what did he do this time? And... who are you?" she looked at Lucy, then she shook her head. "Forget that for now. I need to heal him." The others nodded. The redheaded girl an the almost-naked guy picked Natsu up and carried him to one of the rooms. The girl that Lucy assumed was Wendy hurried into one of the rooms, the last girl who resembled Happy except for her white hair and cat ears trailed after her.

"I'm sorry, Wendy." Levy whispered as Happy closed the door as he entered the room. Levy turned to Lucy. "I'll show you the room you'll share. The person you're sharing with is named Cana Alberona. She's a bit um... odd, like the rest of us, but she's a good person. You can trust her."

"Fine then. Is she in there right now?"

"No." Levy took out a key and opened it door number 11. Then she handed Lucy the key. "This is yours. Do you need any help getting stuff set up?"

"No, I only have this." Lucy held up Michelle's doll.

"Alright, then. Dinner's at 6:oo, but I'll come about 45 minutes before to give you a tour. That's gives you a couple of hours to do whatever." With that, Levy walked out of the Dormitory common room.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, the others who had gone to help Natsu came out of their room. To Lucy's surprise, they sat down in the chairs in front of her, except for Wendy, who ran up an hugged her. "Thank you for helping my brother!" she cried happily. Lucy's eyes widened in shock. Wendy receded and perched on the arm of Natsu's chair.

The guy who was only in his boxer shorts earlier spoke first, and thankfully he had clothes on now. "Happy told us that you helped the idiot. Lucy, right?" Lucy nodded. "I'm Gray Fullbuster." He held out his hand and Lucy shook.

"Hey, what did you call me, pervert?" Natsu asked angrily.

"I called you an idiot obviously, flame-for-brains," Gray smirked. He and Natsu both stood up and looked like they were about to fight, the other looking nervous when...

" _Stop this and sit down, you fools!_ " The redhead stood up and admonished them, an strange intensity in her eyes.

"Yes Erza!" they both uttered, voices full of fear as they quickly sat back down.

" _How many time do I_ have _to tell you, it's Titania!_ "

"Sorry!"

The fiery light in her eyes left her and was replaced by a confused look briefly flashed through her eyes and she sighed. "It was her again, wasn't it. And don't answer that." She too held her hand out to Lucy. "I'm Erza Scarlet. And well, I guess I have a split personality, who insists on being called Titania." That was weird, but it explained some things. Lucy shook the older girl's hand.

"Thanks for helping Happy save my butt back there," Natsu smiled cheekily at her, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, and this is Wendy, my little sis." He patted his little sister on the head.

"Just asking," Lucy inquired, "are you two biological siblings? Because you look absolutely nothing alike. And why are you making such a big deal about it? It's not like you injuries were fatal or anything."

"We are," Wendy replied simply, "it's just, our parents look completely different, and it's weird, but I look like our mother, and Natsu looks like Dad did." At this Wendy's tone became sad, like this was a subject that caused her grief. It probably was. "Um... I should probably warn you about something that happens sometimes..." suddenly she seized up. The others all tensed up, like this had happened before and they were waiting for it to happen. Wendy's eyes seemed to change. They were still dark brown, but there was a new light to them, a light that was very familiar to Lucy, too familiar...

Wendy gurgled, her fingers clawing at her back. It was like she was trying to pull something out her back... like a knife. Lucy's blood turned cold. " _Lucy, you- have to- escape... you promised me..."_ then Wendy went back to normal. She noticed the look on Lucy's face and immediately understood. "I'm so sorry Lucy, I just can't control it."

"It's fine Wendy," the little white-haired girl said, and she stepped in front of Wendy, "Now listen up. My name is Charles, and I'm Happy's twin sister, _and_ Wendy's best friends. Don't you dare judge her! This is _not_ her fault!" Charles's voice was ferocious.

"Whoa," Lucy said, "I'm _not_ judging Wendy. She's sweet, and she obviously cares about you all a lot! Everyone has problems, and I won't judge people by their flaws. Unless there's no goodness in them at all. But, please explain."

Charles still looked at her with some mistrust. "I can't explain it all, because I wasn't there when it started." She gave Natsu a look.

"Okay, I get it," he rolled his eyes, "so it started a long time ago, back in our village. When my mom had Wendy, she died. Her name was Grandine, and she was best known to our village for being a really good healer, and she was really, really nice. I felt so sad she was gone, and I felt even sadder for Wendy. She'd never get to talk to Mom.

"But, the weirdest thing happened. When Wendy was barely one, she began to read through my mom's book on healing. It was just so weird. My brother- I mean, I had shown Wendy the pictures in the book before, but I swear she was actually _reading_ it. She said words from that book, and soon phrases. And, whenever someone in the village died, she would babble things about them that she couldn't have possibly known.

"When she was about three, she was able to explain it to us. She said..."

Wendy stood up. "You never manage to explain this correctly, so I'll take it from here. I hear voices," she told Lucy, completely serious, "Of people who have died. They advise me, and when I here the voice of someone who recently died, they give me their memories. It's what helps me so much, the things they tell me. Sometimes I even blackout, like I did now. I have a theory about it. Maybe it's- someone dead trying to speak to someone they love. everyone thinks that's crazy, but I don't think so. I seem to blackout around Levy a lot, but she doesn't seem to be effected, because she can't remember anything. I swear, it's like someone's trying to get her to remember. Do you believe me?"

It was to Lucy's surprised when she nodded, but she realized she really did believe Wendy, because when Wendy had her last episode... it was like her _mother_ was trying to speak to her. Telling her that she still had to escape, to keep her promise.

Wendy wasn't done yet. "Natsu, don't try to stop me saying this. But Lucy, there's a voice that keeps coming back to me, and even though I have no proof, I know who it is. It's my mother, Grandine."

* * *

A few hours later, Lucy was still pondering it all. As she was a fairly sharp person, she had several things to think about. Levy's hopes for escape, Natsu slipping up and saying "my brother," and Wendy's weird abilities. Everything seemed absolutely ridiculous right now, but Lucy had a feeling that while she was stuck here, she was going to learn about many odd things. Everyone was so open about their pasts, but Lucy wasn't going to be. She was afraid that if she shared, this was going to become a _very_ sticky situation.

The door suddenly opened. "Hi Lu," Levy said as she walked in, "Are you ready for me to show you around. Trust me, you want to know where things are before hand, because this place offers little help. And are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lucy said firmly, "I'm fine. Let's go."

* * *

Far away in Crocus, a man was looking at a new file from the Fairy Tail Institute. He skimmed it, closed it, and quickly put it back. It was almost time for his plan to come into place. Just a little more time, and they would all _finally_ be free. The Asylum would be finished, and all of Fiore would know the truth. And nothing would stop it, because it was time for things to change.

* * *

 **Sorry about the cliffhangers, but I swear I'll eventually let you all know who "he" is. That's all. Bye, and please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I was planning on getting the done on Monday, but things didn't pan out. But it's here only a day late, so if you were waiting, please forgive me and enjoy! For all you NaLu fans, I love the ship too, but they did just meet and I'm playing it safe since I suck at romance. Also, if any of you know anyone who could draw up some cover art, I'd like to know, because although I like to draw, I'm not really good enough to do this. I might give you an internet cookie if you do. ^-^ That's all, please enjoy!**

* * *

"So, Lu," Levy said dully, "that's everything you need to know." Then she rummaged through one of her pockets and came up with a stained piece of paper that she handed to Lucy. "Here. This is a map just in case you can't remember what I told you. You're expected to be up by 6:00 AM, and breakfast is at 7:15. Report to your assigned place by 8. Lunch is at noon, and you have to be back at your assigned place by 1. Dinner is at 6, and the curfew is at 9:45."

"You sound bored," Lucy observed, glancing at the map. "And why is this place so strict about things? And what the hell even is this 'assigned place?'"

"I'm bored because not only am I the one who always has to give the tours, but the tour itself is also boring. Your assigned place is where you have to be for the day. The education center, psychological experiments, disciplinary rooms... they're all examples of places you have to be."

"Psychological experiments?" Lucy repeated in a terrified voice as her imagination filled in all sorts of disturbing pictures in her head.

"Unfortunately, yes. But Lu, don't worry about that now. You won't have to be part of one for at least a week." That definitely didn't reassure Lucy. "Hey Lu, it's almost dinnertime. Let's go to the dining place, you can talk with Natsu and the others and I'll introduce you to Cana."

"Okay, but just asking, this Cana is there..?" Lucy inquired nervously.

"She has a drinking problem and she can find out almost everything with her cards."

"What is it that she can't find?"

"Her father. She never knew him and she desperately wants to know. He mother, Cornelia didn't tell her anything."

"Cornelia? Why do I get the oddest feeling like I've heard that name before?"

"I'm not sure. And when it comes to Fairy Tail, you don't always get an answer to your questions." With that ominous statement, Levy opened the door to the dining hall, and the two girls walked in.

There was a holler from one of the tables in the corner. "Get over here shrimp!" Lucy looked to the corner to see who it was. Most surprisingly, the voice appeared to belong to a tall guy with long, shaggy black hair, red eyes, and metal studs all over him. It was surprising, but not nearly as surprising as it would have normally been considering he was sitting at the same table as the Dragneel's and the cat-eared twins. There was another shout for Levy from two boys sitting alone at another table, but Levy just mouthed _later_ and plopped herself down next to the dark haired boy.

He observed Lucy keenly, and she looked down nervously. "Hey Salamander," he asked Natsu, "who's Blondie? She's the one you said you met earlier, right?" Lucy saw Levy roll her eyes at him.

"Her name is Lucy," Natsu said simply and flashed her a wide grin. The girl smiled shyly back.

"Ooh," Happy grinned devilishly. He gave them both a look. Lucy immediately turned red.

"Geez you're a devil, stupid catboy!"

"Don't call me catboy! I have a name, you know."

"Shut up, foolish tomcat," Happy's sister Carla said, slapping him on the arm.

"Okay, continuing," Levy interjected, "Lucy, this is Gajeel. He-"

"Yeah, yeah," Gajeel interrupted, "I'll just shorten small-fry's long explanation. I'm Gajeel Redfox. I make stuff out of metal, and I practically raised Salamander and the kid." He pointed to Natsu and Wendy, and Lucy saw a hint of affection in his eyes, like when he would call Levy a nickname. He seemed weird in that way; he didn't call people by their name.

"Why do you call Natsu 'Salamander?'"

He glanced cautiously at Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla who had tensed up slightly. "Can't tell you, bunny girl."

"Bunny girl? What type of nickname is that, you asshole?" Lucy was aware that he probably did that to tick her off and change the subject, but she still didn't like it one bit.

"Because you bounce in your seat and stuff when you talk. Plus you seem kinda happy-go-lucky."

Suddenly, Lucy saw two more people join the table. Gray and Erza. She smiled warmly at Lucy first, and then her eyes darkened. "You two!" she pointed to Gray and Natsu. "I don't want to see any fighting whatsoever, got it? I won't let you scare Lucy with your incredibly foolish antics. If you fail to heed my warning, I shall have to act." She finished ominously, and both boys gulped. The flashed each other dirty looks before looking in separate directions. With all the people at the table now, things were getting a little crowded.

Levy got up. "Where are you going shrimp?" Gajeel asked.

"I have to sit by Jet and Droy, they would be lonely otherwise. Plus I want Cana to sit here for a little bit so Lucy can get to know here somewhat." Levy turned on her heel and made her way to the two boys that were by themselves.

"Yeah, that's definitely not exposing Lucy to too much weirdness," Gray muttered under his breath. Lucy noticed that he was in his underwear again.

"Gray, your clothes?" came a new voice. Lucy looked up to see a girl with violet eyes and wavy brown hair seat herself where Levy had been shortly before. The girl turned to Lucy. "So you're my new roomy, eh?" She pulled out a flask from her pocket, took a long drink out of it, and then put it back. She slung her arm over Lucy's shoulder and sat in the empty seat, giggling.

"Um...hi?"

"No need to be shy," Gray encouraged(thankfully his clothes were back on, "Cana may be a crazy drunk, but she's probably a better person than the rest of us." Despite the grimness contained in that simple statement, he shrugged casually and glanced at the others. There was no objections, only guilty looks. For Natsu though, he got a faraway, disturbed look in his eyes that made him look like a scared little kid. But it only lasted for a second.

"Er... how is that so?" Lucy asked, nervously. She had a feeling that she was prying too much, especially from that fleeting glimpse of weakness from Natsu, who despite their first encounter, seemed like a good person. The others did too. Even though Gray's stripping issue was so odd, he seemed like someone who you could rely on, someone who would always give an honest answer. Erza was stubborn. Wendy was sweet. Gajeel was protective. As for Happy and Carla... the only question Lucy had was _Who the hell raised these two?_

"I'm not avoiding the subject, after all it's not like the administrators keep things secret, but I was reminded of something. Where is your punishment wound?" Erza looked directly into Lucy's eyes like she was trying to extract her soul and find some answers about Lucy. Lucy shut her eyes.

"What's the punishment wound?"

"Hm. If you don't know what we're talking about, I'm assuming you had Gildarts?" Lucy was surprised that Erza could tell but she nodded nonetheless, "Well the punishment wound is an injury inflicted to remind the subject of their crime," She said this as if she was reciting it from a textbook, "That is what the leaders of Fairy Tail call it. In reality, it is a way to torture newcomers into submission by giving them a painful guilt trip. The wound you get is based on what you did. So, what is your punishment wound?"

"I uh... got stabbed. Right here," she put a hand on the wound, which she had all but forgotten until now, surprisingly.

The others raised their eyebrows. "In that case," Gray said, "she's not that different from us. You killed someone, or witnessed a death blamed on you, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Most of us at this table got similar wounds. Erza and Natsu probably got it the worst. You see, all of us here, well we're all killers in a way. Except for Wendy and the twins. The worst they've ever done is severely wounded. They probably shouldn't have been sent here along with Natsu and Gajeel, but they were found guilty by association, and by blood. And speaking of blood..." he glanced at Natsu before continuing, "If I'm to understand, pyro and the metal head here had some bad blood with some other people in their hometown." Lucy sort of wanted to ask what it was exactly that they had done to land them in here, but that would most certainly cross the line. "By the way, you never told us why you're here. If you don't want to, I won't pry, but it might be better off if-"

"I killed my father," the sentence was short bu effective. Wendy and Carla gasped, and Lucy felt he stomach drop to her feet. Now they all probably thought she was horrible. Killing was one thing, but patricide? That was one of the worst crimes one could commit. But she just trusted these people, goddammit! She was about to get up and excuse herself but Cana grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Forgive me," It was Erza, or maybe it was Titania, because Erza's eyes were intense, "but Lucy, you have no right to think you're a horrible person. If you think what you did was bad, you are very much mistaken. Every person at this table, except for Cana, is here because they are being held responsible for mass death. It doesn't matter if the one person you killed was your father, he was only one. And you don't seem like the type to meaninglessly kill. I bet something was going on. And I bet you lost control."

"How did you know? How can all of you read me like an open book?" Lucy was awed by how they seemed to know what was going on.

"Like Gray, I won't ask about you. As for us, there is _no_ one who knows losing control better than Natsu and I do. I won't lie to you. Someone who took care of me was murdered right before my eyes. My other self wasn't able to control my rage. I ended up murdering many people. And I was only six too."

"I was nine! But- my situation was pretty similar. What happened to you after you, uh killed people?" Lucy mentally smacked herself for her poor phrasing.

"The survivors of the party that murdered that man spread the word. I had no way to leave my confines. Two days later, I was captured and sent here. How were you able to go so long without being caught?"

"I ran away from my house. I actually heard about this place, so for the past seven years I've been lying low. But I got caught, and now I'm stuck in this miserable place." Lucy sighed. All those years of running away ended up being completely pointless. She still didn't escape. She couldn't fulfill the wishes of her mother and Michelle.

"Wait," Natsu said, "if you were nine, and you've been on the run for seven years... are you uh... fifteen?" Natsu scratched the back of neck.

"You flame-for-brains!" Gray smacked his forehead in exasperation, "Can you not even do simple math? She would be sixteen!"

Lucy smiled sadly. "You would be correct, Gray. And Natsu, well, good try." Natsu scowled at Gray, who smirked back at him. And Lucy was going back to the other subject. But Natsu noticed it.

"Hey, Luce," Lucy looked up at the nickname, "in that sense, you're not so different from me. I didn't mean to do what I did, but..." Lucy noticed how he tugged his scarf up on the right side. She also noticed him doing this every time those odd comments about what he did came up. _Odd_.

Cana, surprisingly gentle, put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "It's okay. From what you're saying, your dad was an asshole. I know all about asshole dads. I'll be here, and I can provide the alcohol if you ever need to drink it off." She gave a laugh and Lucy joined in. "And now, I have some people I have to go to. Plus, I kind of skipped my kitchen duty."

"Cana!" Carla said disapprovingly, "we have enough bad examples for Wendy and the tomcat as it is! We don't need more of them!"

"How about for you, you damn cat girl?" Cana smirked at Carla.

"I'm mature enough to tell a bad example when I see one. Now shoo, Mirajane and Elfman may be fair cooks, but if they don't finish fast enough they'll be punished severely."

"Yeah," Gajeel, who had been pretty quiet until now, interjected, "I'm getting tired of this dumb sentimental crap. When Cana gets into it too, it's just too much."

"Too much for you're idiot brain to handle, you mean," Natsu muttered. Then he grinned. " _Metal head_ ," he taunted.

"Like you can talk, Salamander!"

"Fine, fine," Cana muttered under her breath as she ran to the door to the kitchen and slipped inside.

* * *

About ten minutes later, the food was brought out. Four people were carrying small dishes full of food precariously. The way the food was cooked looked like it was good enough, but the ingredients looked bland. The person in the lead was a tall, beautiful girl of about Erza's age with bright blue eyes and long white hair. Next was a giant of a man, with tan skin and white hair that spike up. Next was Cana, and after that was a boy who was Wendy's age. He had spiky hair like that brutish looking man, but it was flatter and shorter, and it was purplish-black. "Who're those three?" Lucy asked the others.

"The one my age," Erza explained, "She's Mirajane. Best cook here, so they often put her on kitchen duty. But be warned, she's also extremely fierce. The one behind her is her younger brother Elfman." So that's Mirajane and Elfman. Except for the white hair, they didn't look alike at all, but then again, Wendy and Natsu had almost nothing physical in common either. Erza finished her explanation. "The other boy is Romeo. His father is stuck here as one of the torturers." Lucy winced in sympathy for the kid.

After the four were done placing the food on the larger table they sat back down. An administrator with black hair and extremely creepy eyes and a leer came forward and blew a whistle. To Lucy's shock, almost everyone sprang from their seats and began battling each other from the food. They didn't start a food fight, they actually fought over the food. The administrators watched and laughed from their side of the room. A woman with weirdly braided bright red hair mouthed to her, _"Looks like you're not getting any, blondie."_

Only Wendy and the twins remained at the table. "What the _hell_ are they doing?" Lucy leaned forward slightly, looking at the three of them.

Wendy sighed deeply. "This place has weird traditions. One of them is to fight over the food while they let themselves be entertained. They know we absolutely despise having to fight each other, but that makes them like it even more. Even though we all get along pretty well, this is one of the reasons we can never trust each other enough. At the same time, we forgive each other after every meal."

"Then why aren't you three down there, you're growing you need to eat. And don't tell me you're not hungry." She frowned in disgust at Fairy Tail for the billionth time today.

"Natsu and the others won't let us. They don't want us to get hurt, do they go through the extra effort to get the food for you. I'm assuming since you don't know, one of the others is getting food for you." Lucy felt a slight warmth enter her chest. The people at this table really were great people. Sure enough, Natsu, Gray, Erza and Gajeel came back, each with two plates of some food.

Natsu handed his second plate to Lucy. "Thanks," she smiled at him. He grinned one of his "perfect smile" grins back.

"Ooh," Happy commented suggestively, "they liiiiiiiiike each other."

"We do _not_ , stupid cat boy!" Lucy and Natsu indignantly countered.

"Whatever," the small blue-head smirked and began wolfing down the food Gajeel gave him like it was a feast. Carla politely thanked Gray for his help, and Wendy profusely expressed her gratitude to Erza. _Wendy is very sweet,_ Lucy thought.

Despite the bleak situation and horribly bland food, dinner was full of jokes taunts, and new friendships. Lucy was beginning to feel like she belonged.

* * *

Dinner was done all too soon though. And now it seemed like everyone was gathered in the dining hall, three people mounting the stage, which Lucy had wondered about many times. There was a man with dark hair with a beard and a cruel sneer, flanked by the woman who kept mouthing insults and "blondie" at Lucy and other blondes in the hall; his other companion was the creepy-smile man who blew the whistle earlier. "Let me guess," Lucy whispered to Erza, "that man in the center is Master Ivan."

"Correct. Those other two are his most trusted co-leaders. The man's name has never been revealed to us, though he is known as Black Snake. The woman is Flare Corona. Now be silent. You don't want to be caught talking." The two girls turned back to the stage.

"Hello, brats," Ivan snarled, "I personally think things are going to work out perfectly. You may have seen we have a new prisoner, and you all know the tradition we have for new prisoners." The man laughed, while many of the "prisoners" gulped. "And, it's Friday! Our special fun event day! So, since we have a story to tell, the event this Friday will be a retelling!" He, Black Snake and Flare simultaneously sneered at the crowd. A cold wind seemed to pass through the hall. Flare and Black Snake came down from the stage and walked briskly through the crowd. To her great surprise, the each took one of an unsuspecting Lucy's elbows and began to drag her to the stage.

"Don't resist, blondie," Flare cackled. The plopped her down on the rickety chair at the front of the stage. Lucy shook in terror and humiliation. Ivan gave her a leer before returning to the microphone.

"This little homicidal brat bears the name of Lucy, which I'm sure quite a few of you know already. But you probably don't know the little freak's full name, which is... Lucy _Hearfilia_." They were some gasped and looks. Lucy lowered her head. She knew this would happen if they found out. Now she had no hope. Natsu and all the others probably hated her now for being related to him. Ivan's grin widened, if that was even possible. "Yes, yes I know. This damn murderer killed our beloved Jude. I'm sure you remember him, right?" There were more murmurs, growing louder, slowly, by the second.

" _Shut the hell up!_ " Ivan roared. All was silent immediately. "This vile creature is his traitorous daughter. I could tell you the official version of the story, but I think i'll tell you the original, to show you what happens to those who challenge us." He laughed an insane, dangerous laugh.

"Our Jude was unfortunately, married to a pathetic witch who couldn't produce a son. She failed, twice. After the second time, she got an illness, and became infertile. This was bad news. Although our little inspector job is considered eccentric, it's fairly easy to get into and it pays well. We had used it to keep our secrets secret. And what happens if someone in the government doesn't have a son? Once they die, the position will be open again.

"Back to Jude's mansion, his wife had two weak little girls. The older one, was _her_ ," He yanked on Lucy's hair and she cried out in surprise and pain, "the younger one is unimportant. For about twelve years, the little bastards were under control. But that night the night of Jude's last visit, it all fell apart for him. He told us of some rumors he had heard told about him and Fairy Tail. Jude had enough information to figure out his wife had managed to sneak out and snitch. We decided, Jude would have to kill his disgusting wife, and the two brats to lessen suspicion.

"His plan didn't go so well. He was supposed to report back the next morning, but he never did. We discovered him, the wife, and the younger of the two dumb girls dead. This one was gone. Our top forensic scientists came in and determined that Jude had succeeded in dealing with the woman and the other girl, but this _Lucy_ had seen him and in a rage stabbed him a total of 29 times!" Lucy's eyes widened. So that was how quick she was. _29 times_. She must have been livid, but she couldn't find any regret in her heart anymore.

"I remember when we came back and informed you brats, and like the assholes you are, we caught you throwing a party!" Ivan's face was red with rage, his face pressed into what looked like a permanent scowl.

Cana's voice rose from the din. "I regret nothing, bastards! And Lucy, you shouldn't either. Thank God you got rid of that damn psycho for us!" Lucy looked out, shocked. That was really how they felt? They didn't hate her? Lucy's heart soured.

Unfortunately, it didn't even last a minute. People on the sides of the cheering chunk of people were whipped into submission. People got the message and quieted down. Ivan didn't scream this time, his voice was quiet. Deadly quiet. "You fools," he hissed, "Do you want to try me?" Then his voice continued as it normally had. "After Jude's untimely demised, we began searching for this dumb little girl you've been stupidly cheering for for seven years. Even though the fool dealt with trouble by slaughter, leaving behind a bloody trail to follow, she was too hard to find for some of our best. "Finally though, our elite squad found the girl in a bar in Crocus, of all places. She was a sitting duck. So now, we are victorious. And this is your lesson. _None_ of you have any power against the Institute. And don't forget that just because of a silly little girl. That is all. Now..." he shot everyone a wicked leer, "Get out, Heartfilia. It's time to select the next story."

Lucy hurried back to Natsu and the others, who surprisingly did not curse at her and shoo her away. Even more surprising: Wendy smiled reassuringly at her and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Wendy."

Meanwhile on the stage, a box had been dragged onto the stage and Ivan stuck his arm in, sifting through the papers and finding a slip. He unfolded it, and smiled at the name. He walked up to the microphone and said clearly, "The person who has been selected to be reminded again of their crimes is... Erza Scarlet."

* * *

 **I'm sorry, what I really wanted to do was tell Lucy and Erza's stories both, but things got in the way in this story and I don't have much time. Plus, it's good to leave the audience hanging that way you'll want to know what's next. I promise I'll try and update this as fast as I can! And yes, I will eventually tell the story of Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Happy and Carla, but not yet! And yes, Wendy and Natsu do have a brother. If you're updated on the manga and you think hard enough, you'll probably guess it! Thank you for all your support and good reviews. Writer and Reader D, sorry I didn't get much of your stuff done, I promise I'll try to next chapter! Thank you for loving it too!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so proud of myself! I got another chapter published quickly. And this story has gone past 1,000 views. I'm grateful to all of you who have taken the time to read this! So, please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 _"The person who has been selected to be reminded again of their crimes is... Erza Scarlet."_

* * *

 _So this is why Gray said it would be better to tell beforehand,_ Lucy pondered. This was why they were so open about it, yet at the same time everyone knew already, so they avoided going into specifics. And they even retold the stories, like entertainment. Like bloody, horrifying entertainment. _Evil,_ the word rang like a bell through Lucy's mind, _They are absolutely_ evil _._ And now Erza would have to suffer again. Lucy supposed since Erza had come here at a young age, the story had probably already been told. But there was an even more disturbing smirk on Ivan's face, and Lucy suspected that something was going to happen.

Lucy came fully back to reality, temporarily abandoning her thoughts. Erza sat with a look of forced courage in her eyes, and oddly enough, it seemed like at the moment, both Erza and Titania had an equal amount of presence. Erza was tolerant, which would balance out Titania's rage. Titania's bravery would help Erza get through this. Lucy hoped it would anyways. Though she had just recently met Erza, the redhead was a dear friend to Lucy already.

Erza did not get dragged to the chair, probably because they already knew who she was. As Ivan adjusted the microphone, Erza shivered. Lucy and some of the others instinctively moved protectively towards her. Lucy wondered for a second how bad it really was. So far all she knew was that someone that Erza care for dearly was murdered in front of her. She was vulnerable, and Titania took control. She ended up killing many people. Ivan began to speak, jolting Lucy from her thoughts. The way he told it was almost story-like, but that only made it seem more like psychological torture and a mockery. Still, Lucy sank into the words.

* * *

 _There once was an uprising in a southern area of Fiore. The people there were in poverty, and insisting that our gracious government was abusing them. The rebellion started out in a small way. Townspeople refused to pay taxes. Government officials passing through were robbed. All in Fiore thought it would die out quickly enough, for the region was small, the people mostly unarmed and weak.  
_

 _Soon, however, the rebellion spread, and almost a fifth of the countries cities and towns were rebelling. Before you knew it, they had formed an army and were marching to Crocus. They slaughtered anyone they met, man, woman, and child. It was just too much. The great army of Crocus had to move in, and the battle was shockingly bloody. The villagers of southern Fiore were surprisingly strong, and there were many casualties on both sides. However, the army of Crocus was victorious. It seemed like things had finally settled down. The country was positive that the rebel soldiers still alive were retreating back home to move on and accept their consequences._

 _That didn't happen. Shortly after, the survivors led a raid on the city of Boscov, robbing stores, burning houses, and murdering all who happened to be in their path. It was unforgivable. The army was called immediately, and the rebels were mostly rounded up and captured._

 _A week later, the punishment was decided. Death for treason was not enough. Life imprisonment wasn't either. Then a method was discovered. The rebels were sent in locked carts, heavily guarded, to Rosemary Village. It was the most prominent and large village of the south. The men were forced to watch as it burned. Several other villages were burned to. The men were sent back to the world with a clear message, knowing this: their families were being sent to and island of the south of Fiore to build a military base, taking the punishment of their elders._

 _Unfortunately, mere weeks after the building started, the island was discovered by an enemy of Fiore and taken over by them. They kept our laborers though. They were far less kind then Fiore. They were tortured, malnourished, and susceptible to illness. It seemed like there would be no hope for them._

 _An unlikely event happened though. There began a slave rebellion, led by none other than a band of small children. Their purpose was apparently, to rescue a friend of theirs taken for a particularly brutal torture._

 _At the same time, a small force of ours was on the Island, disguised as the men running the place. They had one goal, find a man named Rob and kill him. You see, Rob used to be a prisoner of Fairy Tail, but he and a few others had managed to escape. Because of this, we put up a system which now allows none of you to escape. We had been tracking down these people one by one. Those who were still useful were brought back, punished, and made to continue the rest of their lives here. This Rob man, however, had evaded us. Since he would be an old man by the time of this story, we decided to kill him. We noticed how he had a connection with these children leading the rebellion. So we waited until the faith of the slaves started to waver. Only one was still willing to continue the hopeless battle, an annoying little redhead name Erza Scarlet. It was too easy. We came out and made to kill her, and sure enough, the old man came out. He was killed. We figured we would come back soon as our regular selves and lead the people to take out our enemies, and return the base to Fiore, which would give us more esteem in the eyes of Fiore's government.  
_

 _Never would we have suspected that damn girl would go insane, and kill our men. Erza Scarlet was taken over by a mad split personality that murdered all in her way, even her own companions, until she reached her goal. She killed and killed until she reached the place where two men guarded her friend. She killed them to. And then, she fainted. Two days later, we came with an army unit and were told the whole story by the remaining people. We took Erza Scarlet."_

Lucy looked over to Erza. There were no tears, or rage, or fear in her eyes. They were only clouded with regret, and The fierceness of Titania seemed to recede. Then Ivan said something in a sick, victorious voice. "Oh, Scarlet? I suspect no one ever mentioned this to you but we discovered that you had killed a boy in your rage. A friend of yours, apparently." He said these terrible words so casually, it made Lucy mad. Erza was mouthing, frantically, _it can't be true, it can't be true..._ "Apparently, his name was Simon Mikazuchi."

Erza looked devastated, so devastated. And then Titania came in full force and rage and self hate stormed her eyes. She let out a feral scream that chilled Lucy to the bone. Everyone looked at her, but it wasn't a gaze of disgust. Nor was it pity. It was sorrow, and rage, and torment, like everyone was sharing her hell. No one covered there ears. Some people even shot very mouthy curses at Ivan and his men.

What happened next was even more unsettling. Erza, still fully controlled by Titania, seized Wendy and sobbed into her tunic. "Jellal," she whimpered, "help me! Forgive me! No, kill me! Kill me!"

Lucy's heart dropped. Why? Why was Ivan like this? And um... what was happening with Erza. Gajeel, noting Lucy's confusion quickly explained. "This Titania person may be tough, but she's also prone to hallucinations. Apparently Jellal was Erza's best friend. He had blue hair, a little brighter than Wendy's apparently, but it would explain a lot." Fortunately, the hallucination was over quickly.

Ivan and his men all watched with cruel light dancing in their eyes. "That is all, you may leave." Everyone began filtering out as quickly as possible, clearly afraid of Ivan. Lucy brooded over her thoughts and memories of the day. She was jolted back when Cana grabbed her arm. "Those asses are going to pay for what they did to Erza soon enough, even if the rest of us have to suffer as a result." Then her tone became much more light-hearted, "in the meantime, we're going to party, so we can give thanks to the girl who got rid of arguably the second worst bastard here." She grinned at the blonde, and despite all of Lucy's conclusions about Fairy Tail she couldn't help but smile back. Having analyzed Cana's personality, she wouldn't be surprised if all of them ended up in those boring torture chambers tomorrow.

For the first time today, she didn't care about that.

* * *

Unlike a normal party, there was no food. No music. But there was alcohol, and hell, was it a surprising amount of alcohol. You had to give Cana some credit. How she managed to hide the stuff, let alone _get_ it was beyond Lucy. She had decided against drinking any though. Many of the others had some though. But when Natsu was offered some, he adamantly refused. Gajeel gave him a look that said something like, _wise choice_. Lucy didn't ask about it.

But _damn_ , was there noise. And the best part was, their captors couldn't bust them out and torture them, because this guy name Bixlow had somehow managed to screw up the door beyond opening. Good thing there were bathrooms in each dorm section though, because there was a lot of barfing on the part of those who went overboard with the drinking. Cana had consumed way too much for a normal human being, but Lucy was impressed. She did not throw up or fall dead on the spot.

It was a fairly enjoyable night. People _did_ keep coming up to Lucy to jokingly thank her for killing of Jude, and that was odd, but Lucy didn't mind too much. Lucy met several people. One was a girl named Juvia(who talked about herself in third person, and was _very_ clingy around Gray), who had oddly ended up in Fairy Tail by breaking a weak dam and flooding her village. Next were the Strauss siblings, Mirajane and Elfman. The two looked at her sadly, like she reminded them of someone who was dead. It was one of the many things Lucy didn't ask about. She was also introduced to Levy's clingy companions, Jet and Droy, who claimed that they were her best friends from her previous life, and they also claimed amnesia had befallen them.

In short, it was an eventful night. Things eventually quieted down at around one in the morning. Levy had lent Lucy an adventure novel, and Lucy fell asleep reading it on a threadbare couch, sandwiched in between Natsu and Levy. Her sleep was surreal, a tangle of odd images, from both past and present. Maybe she could survive Fairy Tail after all.

* * *

Lucy was jolted awake by a rough arm. Sunlight was filtering through the windows, every prisoner in the room groggy. Then Lucy noticed how the door, plus some of the wall around it had been taken down by a sledgehammer. Ivan, Flare, and Black Snake themselves were in the room, fuming. "Because of you little asses," Ivan muttered, "we had to destroy the door!"

 _Crap,_ Lucy thought, _we are completely screwed now._ But she merely sighed and stood up, submitting to the large wooden spoon smacked on the head of each of them. She flinched though, who knew that wooden spoons could hurt so much? The younger ones like Wendy flinched harder than she did, and Lucy winced in empathy. Meanwhile, Natsu, Erza and Gajeel barely even flinched. Gray, Cana, and some of the others flinched the most, wincing afterwards and rubbing their temples. _Probably they're now feeling the effects of the alcohol._

After the spoon had whacked everyone, Ivan spoke. "Even though I am... very displeased about this, I do have something to be happy about." His signature leer followed that statement and Lucy shuddered. "I can now punish you. However, since there are about thirty of you, I will only take six people."

He pointed to Erza "Your pathetic wailing ignited them to rebel. Therefore you will come." Next was Natsu. "Too bad that you just got out. But you went and _burned_ all the curtains again, damn pyromaniac!" He turned to Flare. "Tell Bora he gets the brand reopened again." Natsu eyes widened in fear. He fidgeted with his scarf on his right side, and for a moment Lucy swore she saw _something_ underneath. She dismissed it after a few seconds of pondering and looked at the curtains. They were charred and tattered, and only half the length they used to be. Flare seized Natsu and dragged him to the front with Erza.

Ivan was on a roll. "You know what, Dragneel?" he turned to Black Snake, "Get his little freak sister."

"No!" Natsu protested, "Wendy is not a freak! You hurt me all you want, but don't you dare lay your filthy hands on her!"

Ivan , apparently, found this amusing. "Bold words," he smirked, "for one who _is_ truly powerless against us. Black Snake, the girl will watch as the brand is reopened. Psychological torture works better on the young ones." Black Snake nodded.

Natsu was having none of it, and neither was Gajeel, who was like an older brother for Natsu and Wendy both. He sprang forward and _punched_ Black Snake. Lucy's jaw dropped. However, Flare snuck up behind Gajeel and dealt him a stinging blow with the wooden spoon. "Well," Ivan said, "I was going to force you to fix up my wall and door, but I guess we'll have to teach you a lesson and let someone else do it. Moving on. Alberona, you'll be coming along since I know you provided alcohol. And... Justine." He pointed to a guy with long green hair, with two little strands stuck straight up like two little bolts of lightning. "You're the oldest one that sleeps here," Ivan intoned, "You didn't stop it."

"That's not true!" Cana shouted indignantly, then she lowered her head, "I knocked him out before the party started so he couldn't boss us around." Despite the circumstances, that comment got a little but of laughter, even from Ivan subordinates, which earned them one of those looks that were almost capable of murder.

Ivan waved his hand, dismissing it. "That doesn't matter. This is the amount of people I have chosen to be punished, and Justine is guilty by association anyways." The six reluctantly allowed themselves to be herded out of the room. Lucy felt relieved that she hadn't been picked, but that didn't come close to blocking out the worry she felt for the others.

* * *

"Juvia!" Gray called, "get the-"

"Juvia has already secured the water bucket," Juvia came from the bathroom carrying a bucket halfway full of water, "Juvia knows what happens whenever Natsu gets the brand reopened, so she has prepared the important necessity already." She said it down on the floor by the wall and smiled happily at Gray.

"Would anyone bother with filling me in?" Lucy asked, "What is this _brand_. I'm pretty sure it's not the mark."

"Sorry Lucy, but we can't," Happy said, "I hate being reminded of it, and Natsu doesn't want us to tell anyone else about it. Maybe he'll tell you about it when he gets back. Natsu likes you."

"Wait what?" Lucy's face heated up at that last part. "What did you say?"

It took a few seconds for Happy to get it. "Ooh, I didn't mean _that_ , it's your own fault for reading into it too much. But maybe that's because you _like_ him!"

"No! No!" Lucy covered her face in embarrassment, "Shut _up_ stupid cat kid!"

"You liiiiiiike him, you liiiiiiike him, don't you Lucy?"

Lucy wailed in humiliation before Gray cut the evil little blue head off. "Could you two stop acting like idiots? Lunch doesn't last forever, you know. Not only am I skipping out on a meal when I didn't have the _previous_ one, but you're wasting the time we need for necessary preparations. The punishments will be harsh, but we must be prepared for when Fire Brain returns."

"What exactly does Natsu do that's so catastrophic, exactly?"

"Don't remind me," Happy said once more, "But it's bad. Every time I see it, I hate Zeref more and-"

"Happy!" Carla shouted angrily, "We promised to never say that name again unless we absolutely had to! Just because we have someone new doesn't mean you get to even utter that filthy name!"

Happy shrunk. "I'm sorry sis."

Carla calmed down and looked shocked at herself. "I'm sorry... Happy... it's just..."

"I know what you mean."

Lucy was curious, in a kind of horrified way. Happy and Carla were about ten. Who was this Zeref person to draw such a reaction from them. The words escaped Lucy's lips before she could stop them. "Who's Zeref?"

"That's a story for another day," Gray said shortly.

"Love Rival made Juvia's love upset!" Juvia gave Lucy a glare.

"How many times do I have to tell you I _don't_ like any of you insane people!" Lucy cursed at herself for being so stupid. How could she even _think_ that. The other four gave her horrified looks.

"Lucy," Gray said quietly, "it that how you think of us? As crazy?"

"N-no," Lucy stuttered shamefacedly, "it just, slipped out. If you guys are crazy, than I'm just as crazy as you are." And with that all the tension melted out of the air. Juvia noticed the time, so they headed out of the gaping hole in the dormitory. Lucy headed to the kitchen, where she would be helping Mirajane and a girl name Evergreen who was friends with Freed and Bixlow cook dinner and clean the kitchen.

Ever since Lucy had arrived here, she had just accumulated more and more questions. The people here were _way_ more like her than she thought. Reluctant and afraid. Scarred. Lucy was beginning to feel something that she never thought she'd feel again since that night. Hanging around the people here, her new friends was almost like...family. _A family of messed up kids_. Lucy thought sadly. But, that didn't change how Lucy felt. She had expected to be more alone and broken than ever. But it seemed like her heart was filling back up again, with people she could afford to care for. She still missed her mother and Michelle like that night had been only yesterday, but she wasn't empty and devoid of hope anymore. Things may be slightly darker than she was used too, but she was beginning to see a faint glimmer at the end of the tunnel.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay! Another chapter done! This one is actually pretty short, but I believe it's important for the plot development. Sorry for Natsu's OC-ness. Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy mulled over her thoughts as she helped Mirajane clean dishes. It seemed like she was getting too much time to do that lately. Many mysteries plagued her mind, the most odd of them all being the brother of Natsu and Wendy that everyone refused to speak of directly.

They had gone to such far lengths that when Happy mentioned a name, Carla harshly scolded him. _Zeref, huh?_ Lucy though. It wasn't like it was a disturbing name, but the feeling Lucy got when they talked about him was, in short- not good. They made him seem frightening. And though Lucy really didn't want to push the Dragneel siblings themselves into talking, she was quite curious.

Lucy shook her head. It was utterly useless to think about a question who's answer she had no access to. So instead, she turned her thoughts to the rare occurrence of last night. The fact that she dreamt a dream full of hazy images. Lucy's sleep was usually dreamless or a scenario in sharp detail. So that fact that she remembered things, but had forgotten them at the same time, she really _did_ have too much time for thought.

There was one image that she remembered clearly though. It was dark, there was red on an expensively carpeted floor. Lucy remembered putting all of her rage and grief into one throw, then seeing the gleam of silver, like a comet, sinking into cloth and flesh. She remembered seeing the spurt of crimson, and to Lucy it seemed far darker than the blood staining the floor. It seemed like it was almost black. Evil blood.

Lucy had always felt sick for feeling this way, but it was the truth and nothing could change that.

That first wave of blood was like the surge one might feel when purging those who are wicked. It was a dark red ribbon of victory, a burst of vengeance.

But more than any of those, it symbolized the end of a reign of terror and abuse.

It symbolized a grim kind of hope.

* * *

 _Damn these sadists,_ Natsu thought with concealed rage. It was one thing to drag him here for a terrible punishment, but it was another to make _Wendy_ witness it. Natsu hated it all. His being was always shifting from weakness to strength. For the first five years of his life, he was happy. He was happily unaware of the feuds between the different people of his village, or the trials that would come. He lived contentedly under the roof of his parents, Igneel and Grandine; he spent his days happily playing with his older brother, Zeref.

But, when Wendy was born, everything _changed_. One disaster flowed into another, and Natsu, Wendy and the three others ended up orphaned and smack dab in the clutches of the Fairy Tail _Asylum_ with consequences resulting from a dead Zeref weighing heavily on Natsu and Gajeel's shoulders. Because he had spent _those_ five years being a weakling. And because of his weakness, everyone he had ever known was paying the price. _Everyone_ he ever knew had suffered because he couldn't hold onto himself. Natsu blamed himself for it all, for his insanity.

The hallucinations never stopped; they triggered his hallucinations. The hallucinations always had something in common. They always started with _that_ night, with _that_ face. The hallucination continued like that night really did, but with much less detail. The little details that were there though, were sharper than any memory or experience.

It was a long slash of grey iron, dark yet bright. It traced the cut, the one that brought forth a spurt of red. It wasn't the red of fire though. It was the red that meant life. Blood. Or in this case, it meant that death was coming.

Then there was the temporary feeling of strength as he thrust a torch forward. The swirling blend of hues from a pale blue to a bright red-orange. They caused black, then more leaking red. Natsu felt an overwhelming sense of weakness at the memory. But they made him feel strong too. Because now, it seemed that he was flickering between the two. _Like fire_ , Natsu thought with amusement. His thoughts were always filled with the stuff.

That didn't change the self-disgust that he felt for himself. He couldn't help it, that blood, it was entrancing. It caused so many emotions. It caused regret and grief, it caused rage and madness and self-hate.

But it was also a curtain, a dark red curtain that closed the era where everything fell apart.

It was a grim kind of hope for his hodgepodge family of orphans.

* * *

Lucy and Wendy were looking around anxiously, Gajeel rolling his eyes. "Geez, bunny girl, you just met Salamander. Why are you so worried?" He crossed his arms like he didn't really care, but everyone could see the slight worry in his eyes. No one blamed him though, Wendy explained what had happened. They had all been released before dinner, Wendy still reeling. It had been grueling, she told the others. She didn't go into detail though. She adamantly refused from saying anything, but everyone _except_ Lucy clearly knew what she was talking about, as usual. She wished that Natsu would just come out and tell her what it was already. What the hell is it that went on? What does it have to do with this mysterious older brother Zeref?

But Lucy couldn't get frustrated. She had a feeling that maybe Natsu had more in common with her than he was letting on. And if she knew anything, it was that even seven years of life didn't change regret or anger unless you stared at it right in the face. And Lucy hadn't until Wendy had accidentally adapted herself to be just like her mother. She had been reminded that though the instructions were to escape, to run away, that wasn't really her job. Layla _knew_ she was going to be framed. Her instructions were to escape from the framing, _not_ to run away like a coward, which was what she had been doing. The only problem was, she was kind of trapped in the Asylum.

Keeping that in mind, she responded calmly to Gajeel. "Everyone else came back. Natsu didn't. Wendy said it was because of the "thing" that Natsu did after the brand got reopened. Erza, who had also returned, Gray and the twins nodded their heads in agreement. That was when Lucy noticed that Gray... was shirtless. She kicked him in the shins. Hard. "Put some clothes on, you idiot!" she snarled. Gray let out a noise of surprise and instantly began looking for the missing shirt in question.

"Speaking of idiots," Gajeel said, "as your older brother figure, I should go check on your brother, kid. I don't want you coming with me, you know what he does." He got up and dumped his paper plate into a nearby trashcan. Then he exited the dining hall.

"You guys are speaking vaguely again," Lucy hinted in annoyance, then turned dramatic, "Oh, will I ever know? I mean, seriously, I thought I was your friend!"

"Wow Lucy, that was stupid."

"I'll kick you, cat boy asshole!"

"Language, Lucy!" Carla interjected.

"Yeah, yeah sorry. But are you _ever_ going to tell me? For real."

"It's not our place to tell. Natsu doesn't want you to know."

" _Why_ is it that he won't tell me, but for _some_ reason, the rest of them got to. It's not that Lucy was nosy or anything, but... she really felt like she _needed_ to know.

"It's because he doesn't want you to see!" Wendy burst out.

"See what?" Lucy responded, both shocked and exasperated.

Wendy decided to continue. "You have much more in common than anyone else. I hate to say this, but... Natsu really is being a coward. No- he _has_ been a coward for seven years. And he's afraid that since you have enough in common, you'll confront him with the things he doesn't want to believe. I want you to do that, though. But, as Gajeel said, you did just meet him. Maybe someday, you'll be able to do it."

"So... that's _it_. Geez, you won't tell me because you're afraid I'm going to _see_ into it too much?"

"No, you don't understand. Natsu is... unstable."

"How exactly is he unstable?"

Wendy got up, clutching her plate. "I'll show you. Dump your plate and come with me."

"Am I going to regret this?"

"You might be... slightly disturbed."

* * *

 _"What the hell is he_ doing _?"_

"I told you so."

Lucy had braced herself for the worst, as she and Wendy had heard hoarse screams when they neared Dormitory 2. But this was... absolutely shocking.

There was Gajeel, just casually standing there as Natsu was collapsed on the floor- _whimpering_. His scarf was off, and Lucy saw something truly horrifying on the right side of his neck. It was a brand all right, and it was still bleeding a little bit. Lucy thought it formed messy letters, but she couldn't be sure. All that, and Gajeel was just _watching_? Natsu looked like he was a ten-year-old kid, heck, there were even small tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked so weak.

Then, Natsu got something out of his pocket. A matchbox. Still in his vulnerable state, he lit one and threw it at the wall. The wall began to light up, but before it got out of control, Gajeel picked up the bucket and dumped it on the wall _and_ Natsu. Lucy saw that scared, far off look drain from his eyes. Wendy stepped forward tentatively and gave him his scarf, which he deftly wrapped around his neck, adjusting it on the right like he usually did. "Thanks," he told Gajeel and Wendy. Then he noticed Lucy and his expression turned furious. "Which one of you came up with the idea to bring _her_ here."

Then he noticed how Lucy's eyes had gotten an extremely hurt expression and he profusely apologized, but Lucy wouldn't hear it. She _kicked_ him. "Natsu Dragneel, you idiot! Why are you such. A. Damn. Coward?"

Natsu looked like he'd just been kicked, and then sucker punched, and then slapped. "I... I'm sorry, but I just can't. I... should probably go see the others." He turned on his heel and swiftly ran out the door.

Wendy tugged on Lucy's sleeve. "You tried to soon, Lucy." Then she lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm not pissed at you. But I _will_ find it out. Even if I have to _kick_ the answer out of that idiot."

* * *

It was behind the castle in Crocus, two men debating over an issue far serious than it may seem at first. "You can't! It took you forever to escape, why on Earthland would you even think about going back?"

"Because I have to. I never did escape for freedom. All those months of planning, all that work, it was never for myself. Never. My intention was always to infiltrate the place so that I could gather enough info to free everyone. I know the risks. But I've been good at keeping my secret. Only you know. It was also convenient that the Asylum is so possessive of their information. If it was stored here too, I probably would've been found."

"So you're sure."

"Absolutely. But it's not like we're going to expose the Asylum and go charge it with the army backing us up. Because then everyone else trapped there would react negatively. And... there are some people that don't need much to turn them absolutely insane." He grimaced as an image of a crazy Natsu and Erza flashed into his mind. God, he hadn't seen those two for a really long time. He smiled at the prospect of seeing them again.

"Are you going to let yourself get caught right away?"

"Of course not, that would be too suspicious. I'll set something up in say... a week. Stage One of our plan begins now, Lahar." And with that, the other man shook his friends hand and disappeared into the warm summer night.

* * *

 **There you go! Another chapter with the mysterious he, and I'm sure it'll be easier to guess. Please review your guesses, I'd love to see what you guys think! So, I don't currently have any ideas for Chapter 8, so I might not be updating this for a little bit. However, I dp have some ideas for other stories, so I'll be starting on those. Currently, I'm about two thirds of the way through the first chapter of my Fairy Tail/Hunger Games Crossover. It's called Remember. Also, I'm going to start a small series where Fairy Tail is a theater group and Mirajane the matchmaking demon is at hard work! I really do like AU's, especially in this fandom, if you couldn't tell! That's all, so bye!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**I finally found my inspiration! I debated over whether I should reveal Natsu's backstory or not, but I'm going with no. At least, not much of it... but you shall hear some others! By the way, has anyone read the recent manga chapters? For a moment there I was really thinking that Mashima brought Ultear back! He's such a troll. Ah well, that's all! Please enjoy this chapter!  
**

* * *

Lucy sat in the dormitory, huddled around a match with some of the others. She was in between Natsu and Levy, and they were idly chatting about the problems with the Asylum. She was pretty much squashed into Levy, because she wasn't going to trust Natsu until he told her what the big deal was. She _did_ feel like she was being selfish about the whole past thing, but everyone else already knew and Wendy said she could help! And then there was her natural curiosity, which wasn't just going to rest. She didn't know anything about his past but this mysterious brother, Zeref. _That's it_ , Lucy congratulated herself.

"Hey guys," she broke in, "do you guys have any siblings? Or did you?"

"As far as I know, nope," Levy responded, "you have a younger sister named Michell, right? Tell us about her."

Lucy smiled slightly, but she was still guilty about not being able to save her. "She was really sweet. Even when my... father made us do really tough work, she never complained. When my mom had back pains, my sister couldn't do much, but she'd get a bowl of warm water and a rag and put it on the sore spot. I'd help her carry the bowl, she couldn't do it by herself. She had a doll that looked like her, my mom made it. She called it Little Michelle. That's all; did any of you have siblings?"

"I didn't, but the kids that were also enslaved were like siblings to me," Erza smiled.

"We did," Wendy said suddenly, looking at Lucy, "we had an older brother named-"

" _Don't say that name_ ," Natsu snarled. Wendy reeled away from her brother, a pained expression on display.

"I-I'm sor-rry Natsu..."

"Jerk!" Lucy snapped, whacking him, "how could you yell at your own sister like that? I wouldn't even _think_ of yelling at Michelle that way! And _what's so bad about this brother of yours_?"

"I had a foster brother named Lyon!" Gray abruptly interrupted, "hey, Lucy, do you want to hear about what happened to me?"

She gave Natsu one last glare before turning to Gray, "I guess, but why would you want to share it so eagerly?"

"Things are getting tense," he told the others, "and unlike _someone_ here, I'm actually willing to trust you."

"Thanks," she smiled at him, shooting a sideways glance at the "someone" in question, "Go ahead."

"Okay then," he took a deep breath, "so, I was born in a village in the North. I was pretty happy back then. I had both of my parents, friends, and a well enough lifestyle."

"Good for you, Stripper, that you at least got to begin with a good life," Natsu shot out sarcastically.

"Don't complain just because you're being a stubborn idiot, pyro! You started out fine too!" The two moved as if to punch each other, but a hand shot out and smacked both of them in the back of the head.

"Shut up, both of you!" Erza snapped.

"Yes ma'am," they simultaneously exclaimed, then glared at each other before Gray continued. "So, I lived in a village in the North. My mother, Mika, grew flowers and sold them, but my dad was a scientist. He was working with other scientists in the village on some dangerous compound. It wasn't secret or anything. Everyone in the village knew about it. Even travelers passing through knew.

"Unfortunately, word reached the government. The compound they were working on was forbidden, it was so dangerous. They warned our village to stop, but we didn't. Soon we found out that it wasn't the compound itself that was forbidden, but the scientists were actually making an _antidote_ for it. It was a deadly poison that the Fiore army used in their bullets.

"They could've done it a different way! Instead, the sent an assassin," Gray's eyes darkened, "with the orders to kill everyone in the village. I was eight at the time," he laughed with dark humor. "His name was Deliora. It was ironic, he used those poisonous bullets. But he also got the job done faster by burning down the village. I saw my parents die in front of me. The last thing my dad gave me was a vile, the small amount of antidote they had. I wanted to use it to save him and my mother, but it was too late. Deliora loomed over me, and he told me something disturbing. He said, 'I suppose this is revenge. I nearly died in flames fueled by the rage of a child, and now I get to kill one with them.' He was about to kill me, when he was shot in his side."

"Was it your foster mother?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah! Wow Lucy, you're a lot smarter than people would initially think, you know?"

"Jeez, thanks," Lucy sarcastically remarked.

"It was meant to be a compliment, because well... agh! Never mind. Should I just continue?" Lucy nodded. "Well, it was my foster mother. Ur was her name. She and my foster brother Lyon happened to be traveling through when the massacre occurred. They were searching for survivors when they found me. Nothing was said. Ur just grabbed my wrist and we ran for it.

"It wasn't long before I became part of the family. It was pretty odd sometimes. Ur liked teaching Lyon and me survival skills, like lighting fires, surviving the cold, hunting and foraging for food, that stuff. She also had an _extremely_ weird habit of stripping down to her underwear, and Lyon had apparently picked it up too. I did eventually, and that's why I do it subconsciously today. One time, we were at the market and I accidentally took of my clothes. Ur yelled at me for it, and I blamed it on her and Lyon. She gave me a _pretty_ hefty smacking." He laughed nostalgically as if it was a humorous rather than weird memory. Lucy supposed it was, seeing as he clearly loved his foster mother and brother.

"Did you ever ask her where _she_ got the habit from?" Lucy asked, curious.

"No, but that doesn't change things. It doesn't change my fondness for that memory."

"Your life with Ur sounds pretty good."

"Well, not all times were like that. At times I was consumed by the want for revenge against Deliora and even the kingdom itself. Ur would always yell at me for being so careless. She told me that saying things like that in the wrong place could get me killed. Lyon would call me stupid. You see, Ur was strict at times, but you could tell she cared. You see, she had a daughter once, but her daughter had been dead for a little bit by the time she saved me. She always said that taking us in was never meant as a replacement, but rather for her to give others what she never got to give to her daughter. And she also wanted to be a mother. But her husband was long gone.

"Lyon always thought he was better than me. He was a few years older than I was, and he knew a lot more than I did because he'd been with Ur longer. We always argued with each other and fought over everything, but I now I wish I had spent more time treating him like family." His face was full of remorse. "About two years after Ur took me in, Deliora found me again. He said it was he had to finish the job, that they were making him. I don't know how he managed to survive the wound Ur gave him. Ur tried to shoot him again, but he was ready. He shot her with those poisonous bullets right by her heart. I became so enraged that I picked up Ur's gun and shot him right in the head. Then I got out my dad's antidote, but I couldn't do a thing. The wound was in a too critical area and the antidote was too old to work.

"After Ur died, Lyon blamed me for it. He yelled and screamed terrible things. He screamed that Ur should have never taken me in, that I was a danger. He said if I had just stood in front of her and taken the hit. He called me useless, and a coward. And the next day Fairy Tail took me away. I never got to see Ur buried, nor did I ever get to see Lyon and try to make amends. He probably went back into the foster system."

Everyone looked downcast, even Natsu and Gajeel. Erza and Wendy were wiping away tears, but Happy and Carla stood there, numb. It reminded Lucy of something she'd heard. If you witness death at a young enough age, sometimes hearing about it just leaves you petrified, lost in traumatic memories. Natsu and Gajeel's expressions were morphing into guilt, like they'd killed just like Gray. "You know what," Lucy suggested, voice thick, "how about we go to bed now and sleep off the pain for now."

"That sounds fine," Erza sniffled, then she stopped sniffling, switching to Titania, "get up, now. Let's move. We need our sleep for tomorrow." Lucy smiled. Titania wasn't all that mean, she was just firm and practical.

"Goodnight," everyone whispered to each other as they entered their respective rooms.

Cana was sprawled out on her bed, lamp still on, a flask clutched tightly in her hand. She drooled in her sleep, muttering nonsensical things. Lucy pulled the blanket over her friend, not bothering with the flask. She turned off the lamp. Then she climbed into her own bed, pulling the covers over herself.

She fell asleep quickly and peacefully that night.

* * *

The next morning was fairly uneventful. Lucy was beginning to wonder of this was the Asylum's way of torturing its inhabitants- by boring them into oblivion. Oh, well Gray got dragged away for stripping too much, and Happy got beat for about a minute because he got caught stealing canned tuna from the kitchen. Lucy watched all of this from the open part of the wall, as she was washing dishes in the sink. It was her official job now- to "assist" the cooks, which were Mirajane and Elfman, who was surprisingly good at cooking food. You would think with his oddly constant proclamations of being manly and tough would suggest the opposite.

Mirajane came over with some more dishes, and Lucy reached out for them but Mira gently pushed her hand away. "It's okay!" she beamed, "Elfman and I are done with the cooking, so I'm going to help you clean." she turned on the water in one of the other sinks, poured some soap and started to wash. "So Lucy, I see you've met most of the people at our Asylum! How is everyone to you?"

"Fine, I guess. But can I ask _you_ something?" she glanced at the white-haired young adult.

"Of course!"

"Why are you always so happy? I mean, we are in a weird Asylum."

Her expression saddened and she turned to Lucy, who was about to open her mouth in apology but Mira silenced her. "It's okay. I think I should tell you. After all, you do remind me a bit of her, especially with how well you get along with Natsu."

"But I don't get along with Natsu," Lucy protested, her voice a mix of frustration and confusion, "he's a coward. I don't even get how he and Wendy can be related."

"Actually, you do," Mira shot back with amusement, "you're trying to be a good friend but Natsu is just being the stubborn little kid he can be sometimes. And that's why you remind me of her."

"Who's _her_?"

"My little sister! Lisanna!"

"You have a little sister. How old is she?"

"Yes, I do. She called Elfman big brother Elf. Isn't that cute? Unfortunately, she's dead now." Mira's expression saddened again. "Unlike other people, you can probably connect. You had a little sister too, right?"

"Yeah," Lucy confirmed grimly, "her name was Michelle. How did Lisanna die?"

"I don't quite remember what it was for, quite silly of me. I feel like the answer is at the back of my head but it's just our of reach. For whatever reason it was, Ivan needed Elfman to talk and he refused. He had sworn to protect the secret of something, and even though my brother was much softer back then, he still kept his word.

"Finally, they brought Lisanna in a trapped her in some electric torture device. Ivan himself manned the machine, and demanded Elfman tell him. He still refused, and for some reason, Lisanna was willing to die for that cause. Elfman told her sorry for the pain he was causing her, and she said she didn't care. They had beat me previously to get the answer out, but he didn't budge then either. I begged him to tell, but he was firm.

"Ivan was never the most patient man. In a rage, he turned up the voltage too high, and Lisanna was killed. It devastated us all. Elfman so guilty, and I tried to reassure him, but I felt guilty too. But I think Natsu may have taken it a little worse than we did."

"Why though?" Lucy asked, "Were they close?"

Mira laughed without humor, her eyes beginning to tear up. "You think Natsu is bad now? You don't even want to know how he was when he first came here seven years ago."

"Try me," Lucy shot back.

"Alright," Mira said, "when those from Tenroujima first arrived, they all had different reactions. Carla tried to act like she was fine, but she often broke down crying and asking why her life had to be the way it was. Happy was angry, shouting tirades against someone named Zeref." Lucy perked up in recognition of the name. "Gajeel seemed stoic, he was always telling Wendy to leave Natsu be, but it was easy to tell he was concerned too. Wendy kept calling herself weak, she would shy away from people and was scared when most people talked to her.

"Then was Natsu. He would spend most of his free time holed up in his room he shares with Gray, sobbing and clutching his neck. When he was out, he avoided everyone like the plague. The few times he spoke it was always to tell others to get away."

"Why?"

"He said he was becoming a monster. Just like his older brother Zeref." _Oh,_ Lucy contemplated, _does he_ still _think that? Does he have a bad side that he's afraid of being revealed by_ me _, of all people?_

"What did he _do_ that's so bad that he thought he was a monster?"

"I'm not sure that's for me to say yet-"

"Everyone says that!" Lucy was going to pull her hair out soon enough, "I just want to no what's so horrifying!"

Mira sighed. "Well why do _you_ want to know?"

That stopped Lucy. "I-I... don't know, I guess..."

"Are you doing it because it's the nice thing to do? Because you want to know and fit in?" Mira fired off, "Do you want to do it for Wendy? Do you want to know just so you can know?"

"I just don't know why..."

"Well, this isn't just a story you tell around the campfire. This is _life_. Natsu has an extreme case of what's known as survivor's guilt; maybe it's even more than that. He's ashamed of living after what he did. He thinks he's following in his brother's footsteps and leading Wendy down that path too. He's okay with everyone here knowing his story because he's grown to love everyone trapped in this hell. It's not that Natsu doesn't think you're a good person. He's odd. You would think he understands child killers because he _is_ one, but that just makes him more wary. He thinks they have the same inner demons that he does. So wait Lucy, please. I'll tell you. When Lisanna died, it wasn't long afterwards that he tried to commit suicide. Wendy discovered him, and Erza _almost_ killed him for that.

"I'll tell you why Lisanna was so important to him..."

* * *

 _Knock, knock.  
_

 _"Go away," a ten-year-old Natsu shouted, "Don't give me a chance to hurt you."_

 _"You're not going to hurt me. When will you realize that?" a girl about his age with short white hair and bright blue eyes entered the room anyways, "And your room is too dark." She pushed the curtains aside and warm light entered the room. "If you don't show up for your work for the rest of the day they'll hurt you pretty badly, y'know."_

 _"I don't care!" Natsu shouted, "Go away! I have matches, I'll burn you like I did to my brother. You heard what that beardy guy said. My sister and I, we're freaks. But I'm even more of a freak than Wendy is."_

 _"Don't be stupid," the girl scoffed, "They call Mira a freak too. She's been called a freak since forever. All because she did a good thing and it went wrong. Just like you, right?"_

 _"Shut up!" Natsu screamed, "It was never a good thing. I'm just like him now. There was never anything right about it!"_

 _"Yes there was," she protested, "You just can't see it."_

 _"I can see enough to know that you're just one of those people who say fake nice words just so I can feel better for two minutes. When I go back out, they'll tell me I'm a freak, I know it."_

 _"You dare say that?" the girl was angry now too. The exchange was odd, with the two children screaming at each other, "You know what Mira did? There was a sick wolf running around our village. It was about to kill some toddlers, but Mira stepped into the way. She eventually killed that wolf, but she got bit. In the arm! The wolf was infected, and Mira was sick. She was acting funny. Our village called us freaks! They threw rocks at Mira, and called her child of the Devil! Big brother Elf tried to protect her, but they just hurt both of them! I would fly out at people who insulted our family! And eventually, our village turned on us! They turned us in to this place! We've only been here for a week! No one has called us freaks! Not even Mira, and she has a huge scar on her arm!_

 _"And your not the only one responsible for mass death either! Haven't you heard about Erza?_

 _Natsu hung his head as this infuriating girl continued her tirade. He lowered his head in guilt, but no longer from what he did back on Tenroujima. It was sprung from that girl's words. He really was stupid. If he didn't want Wendy to be like him, he needed to set a good example. And how could he turn his back on his best friend? Happy was probably worried sick._

 _"Fine then," he stood shakily. The girl looked surprised, but held a look like 'Finally,' "I'll go. I'm sorry. Thanks for yelling at me." He smiled at her. "What's your name again?"_

 _"It's Lisanna," she smiled and held out her pale hand, which Natsu shook, "Lisanna Strauss."_

* * *

"That's sounds cute," Lucy smiled.

"It was," Mira gushed, now merely nostalgic, "I swear they liked each other!"

"So," Lucy said, "It's not like I don't want some possible embarrassing facts to blackmail him, but... you're saying all I have to do is keep pushing the idiot until he complies?"

"Pretty much," Mira said, "for Natsu, if you're willing to not give up on him, then you really truly care."

"In that case then, I'd better continue trying to make him tell me," Lucy sighed.

Cana came out. "Hey Mira, Lucy! The food is in the dishes. Let's get this part over with, shall we?"

"Yeah," Lucy sighed again.

They began picking up trays and carrying them to the table at the front of the dining hall. As she past by, Lucy gave Natsu a look that said, "I'm not done with you yet." Natsu glared back at her slightly, but she didn't back down.

* * *

He hurried through the alley. Considering the predicament he was leaving at the Council building, it would be best to get out of Crocus as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over an empty beer bottle and tumbled to the ground.

As he got up, dusting dirt and gravel off of his pants, a familiar voice sounded out. "Hello, Doranbolt."

Doranbolt looked up quickly to see three figures in blue cloaks. One was a man with bright blue hair and a read tattoo over the right side of his face. The next was a woman with devilish dark eyes and long dark hair. The third cloaked figure was a girl with curly pink hair tied in a ponytail. "Siegrain? Ultear? And..."

"Meredy," the girl informed him.

"And, actually, I'm not Siegrain Fernandes. I have no wicked twin brother named Jellal."

"You mean, were you wearing a disguise the whole time? And why aren't you with the other Councillors?"

"I think you misunderstand me. I am Jellal."

"You mean you're the one who did all of those terrible things? Why?"

"Relax. I may have made some terrible decisions in my life, and those bad decisions were directly connected with Ultear's, but now we no longer work for the side of evil. Plus, I'm not the only who assumed a false identity, am I? Mest Gryder?" Jellal grinned.

"What- how?"

"You don't have to worry about that now. I came here for one purpose- to inform you that you and Crime Sorciere are on the same side."

"Crime Sorciere?"

"It's the name of our group. We seek to purge the corruptions of this country. Like the Fairy Tail Institute."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Not remotely. You see, the Institute took away someone precious to me. Her name is Erza Scarlet."

"Erza? The girl who led the rebellion, correct?"

"Is Erza a common name? Of course it's her! And whatever you've heard about the rebellion, it's wrong."

"Care to tell me why?"

"Not now. We have other important things to discuss. I bet it took you forever to escape that place."

"Not the actual escaping. The preparations, yes."

"How come? You didn't go through the legendary security measure?"

"No. I found another way."

"In that case then, this information will be useful. I'll tell you the things we know that you don't and then we'll start planning."

"What do you mean, planning?"

"We should plan together. I know much information about this place after I did my research. Things you _need_ to know."

"How did you find out about the place? There's no information in the archives."

"If you dig deep enough, it's all there."

"Oh."

"Oh, Mest? One more thing before we get started."

"Yes?"

"To save everyone and destroy Fairy Tail, we have to _literally_ destroy it."

* * *

 **So how was it? That's really all I have to say for that. I'd like to thank all the people who like my story. My goal is to have at least 50 followers, favorites, and reviews apiece, so thanks to everyone who's helping me achieve this! I'll try to stick with this story to the end, as I also hate it when a writer has a really good story and it suddenly stops and doesn't continue. That's all for today, goodbye!**


	9. Chapter 9

_"Idiot. If you pound on that door any harder, you're going to break it," A tall woman pulled back the door that was currently being pounded on, the concerned look on her face turning into her typical scowl, the lines on her face wrinkling further. Her red eyes glared at the panicking man in front of her, her brother-in-law. His hair was wild, eyes alight with worry. He could've looked ferocious, if the desperation he was experiencing wasn't so obvious. Porlyusica glanced behind him, where his two sons stood anxiously. The older one, Zeref, looked concerned, yet he tried to hold his father back. But there was clearly some anticipation there, with the way he glanced under his father, through the infirmary hallways. Natsu, resembling Igneel, looked impatient and excited.  
_

 _"How's my mama?" he asked._

 _"I was just getting to that, you foolish scoundrel of a child. I swear, you're turning out just like that loud-mouth my sister married," Porlyusica couldn't remember how many times the boy would pick fights with the other boys. It seemed like he was always in brawls with those twins and that Redfox boy. He would always come to the infirmary with bruises and scratches. The boy also enjoyed playing with fire, and he seemed to excel at breaking things. Just like Igneel.  
_

 _"I'm sorry," he amended, then grinned devilishly, "_ Auntie Porly _."_

 _"Don't you dare call me that, idiot!" Natsu's grin only widened, and Porlyusica made as if to smack the foolish boy.  
_

 _Igneel intervened quickly. "I see you're as sharp tongued as ever, but can we settle this later? I know I want to see my new child, and I'm sure Zeref and Natsu want to see their new uh-"_

 _"Sister," Porlyusica snapped, "It's a girl." Then her expression softened. "She looks just like Grandine, but her hair is blue like our mother's. You should hurry and see them, before..."_

 _"Before what?" Igneel was glancing past Porlyusica, straining to see his wife._

 _"Well... I think it will be easier to explain is you come with me." The three males followed the healer through the infirmary hall. Igneel's face was painted with more worry than before. Zeref still looked concerned, but Natsu was bouncing up and down._

 _"Wow!" Natsu exclaimed, "We have a sister, Zeref! I bet she's pretty, just like mama!" He gripped his older brother's cold hand.  
_

 _"Sh," Zeref hushed him._

 _"Why?"_

 _"I'm not quite sure, but I think something is wrong. It's not the right time to be excited. Dad is worried for mom and our sister right now."_

 _"Oh," his face fell slightly, "Okay then! I'll be quiet!" Zeref smiled slightly at Natsu. They reached the door where Grandine was resting; Porlyusica opened the door, and Igneel sucked his breath in._

 _A nightmare filled their eyes. "Mama?" Natsu whimpered. Grandine's dark brown eyes were glazed with pain, a wet cloth the color of custard pressed to her forehead, black hair fanned around her pale, clammy face. Her features indicated that agony was present, and there was blood. All over the bed. Despite her suffering, she still desperately clutched to the bundle of blankets in her lap. The color drained from Igneel's face, and he slumped down to a chair. His eyes were still sharp though. "What happened." It was more of a demand than a question.  
_

 _Porlyusica's ruby soaked eyes became layered with guilt, her dry lips contorting into a tight line. "I was wrong with my diagnosis," she uttered, "after all, the symptoms of this plague are very similar to those quirks that come with pregnancy." She let out a bitter laugh, her eyes gaining another layer. Sadness. "If only I was as competent as those doctors on the mainland; but my sister always has such difficulties with pregnancy, doesn't she? I've become accustomed to it after the last two times."_ _  
_

 _Igneel practically jumped up from his seat and ran to Grandine, clinging one of her sweaty palms, engulfing it. "Don't die," he growled, "You're older sister, that hag Porlyusica is going to find a cure and we_ will _save you, and everyone else in Tenroujima. We_ have _always been lucky, after all. Remember when we thought Natsu had it, and it was just a flu?"_

 _Porlyusica looked furious. "This is no time to be making jokes, fool! And how dare you call me an old hag! I'm not even fifty yet! And what do you mean, you thought this miniature you had this plague?"_

 _"Uh- well," Igneel scratched the back of neck, "when the epidemic had first started, Natsu came down with something. We figured it had been the flu, because that Eucliffe boy had one earlier in the week, and with all of those sick with this plague, we didn't want to bother you." Igneel visibly shuddered, remembering all too well his sister-in-law's reaction when she was busy healing a patient. "About a week into it though, he got all better. So we didn't think anything of it."_

 _"I see," Porlyusica tugged on one of the strands of light pink hair framing her face, "Well, I still have to tell you the most important things. "First of all, the child is not sick." Igneel sighed in relief._

 _"So my sis is gonna be okay?" Natsu asked his aunt. He had joined Igneel at his mother's side, clutching her other hand._

 _"Yes."_

 _"What else is there?" Igneel asked, his mouth tightening into a line._

 _"The plague," Porlyusica confirmed sadly, "has been with her for far too long. The pregnancy weakened her immune system, and the fact that the baby is healthy is a miracle in itself. But, she's lost so much blood during labor... I'm afraid she will not be with us for much longer, I can't even delay the inevitable. I'm going to give her some painkiller so she can speak to you, and you can name your child. She may be able to di-" she glanced at Natsu's innocent face, "go to sleep with some peace of mind."_

 _"Dad," Natsu tugged on his father's sleeve, "why do we need to so many things if mama's just going to sleep?"_

 _"It's not sleep," Zeref said softly, turning to Porlyusica, "she's going to die, isn't she?"_

 _"I- yes," she sighed._

 _"That's not fair!" Natsu wailed, "You can't die, mama! You can't!"_

 _"Natsu," Igneel hugged him, "calm down." Igneel stroked Grandine's dark tresses._

 _"It's okay," a voice croaked. All four turned to see Grandine speaking, quietly._

 _"Grandine," Igneel gasped, "how are you able to speak in this pain? Never mind, please save your energy."_

 _"It's okay," she smiled through the pain, "I'm sorry this had to happen. Don't blame yourself, Porlyusica. Zeref, I know you hold grudges. I know there's a reason behind your guilt. But don't hold on to it. You have much to look forward to, I can't stop you, so don't let me. The same thing goes for you, Natsu. Don't be sad, use this pain to make you stronger. Igneel, take care of these three, and don't keep me from our baby. I have a feeling she has the hands of a healer, so give her my book, alright?" They all nodded. Tears traced silvery paths down faces. The forms of the four people Grandine loved the most trembled. Her hands were held tightly. "That brings us to our child. How about Wendy? She looks just like my mother." Igneel nodded once more, his tears flung from his pale face._

 _"That's it then," Grandine smiled softly, "goodbye. I'll be watching you." Her pale head lolled to the side, the pain vanished. The dark brown of her eyes would never show again, but that beautiful smile still graced her face, brightening the dim room lit by nothing but the moonless night sky, blood soaked sheets, and tangled black hair. For a while, her family just stood there and cried. Igneel stroked her hair, and Natsu leaned his head against his mother's chest. Zeref gazed at Grandine, tears silently gliding down his pale complexion, seeing nothing but his own thoughts. And Porlyusica hesitated, crying. Halfway between grieving for her younger sister, or tending to the other deathly ill patients. Wendy wailed. Eventually, Porlyusica left. A few others died that night. Wendy would wail once someone did, surprisingly before anyone but Porlyusica did. No one thought anything of it. Tonight was a night of grief, and loss._

* * *

Almost twelve long years later, the pain that began on that moonless night still lingered in Natsu's eyes. Gajeel wasn't there when it happened; he had his own parents to grieve over, Happy and Carla would be shuffled aside with their parents vanquished by that mysterious plague years ago as well. Natsu himself probably didn't know, as he was being absorbed, drowning in the layers of misfortune in his life, one tragedy after the other.

But Wendy saw it clearly. Even with her own demons, the voices inside of her head, every death that happened near her ringing within her fragile mind. She knew she was weak, and that it might never change, for on that night she was blessed with life, many others with death. One of those people had been her mother, and despite the fact she could remember nothing but the fading strength of the arms cradling her at the edge of her existence, she felt like she knew her mother well. And her mother would _never_ be okay with this. Natsu was her older brother, he was supposed to be strong for her! He promised her mom that he would. And with each step, he crumbled closer to defeat, to breaking his promise for good. And Wendy refused to let that happen.

That was why Wendy and the others had cornered him before he could make an escape to the room he shared with Gray. Not that he would be able to anyways. Gray was currently leaning casually against the door, eyes viciously daring him to come closer. Natsu was trapped, and the key to the cage was his own identity and history. There would be no leaving until the lock was opened.

"Gotta hand it to the kid," Gajeel smirked, "she's smart. How come you don't have any of that, pyro?"

"Let me go!" Natsu stubbornly replied, turning to Wendy, "you know I can't do this! So I ain't sayin' anything!"

She stepped forwards. "You will," she ordered, unflinching, "because I'm not the only one who says so."

"Who else wants to hear how much we suffered? Lucy?"

"No," she drew closer, until she glared up at him, "Grandine." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off swiftly. "You see, you promised her, the night I was _born_ , that you wouldn't be sad. Don't break that promise and help yourself. This _isn't_ what our mom would've wanted. And I know that talking to Lucy will help you. Why are you so afraid? I think, deep down, that you know it too! I'm not going to be weak and let you go on being stupid anymore!"

"And how will talking to _her_ help me?"

"Because," Wendy impatiently exclaimed, "I know the reason you hated what happened the most. You felt a thrill- didn't you? A thrill for getting rid of our older brother, Zeref. And you're scared of it, because you think it means you find it easy to harm other people, even your family. And you think that you're alone. But you're not, because it's the same with Lucy."

Natsu's strangely olive eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes," Wendy threw her hands in the air, "she killed her dad, who tortured her mother, sister, and her from the day she was born! She saw him _kill_ them both right in front of her! You both felt it, the thrill of destroying the cause of your pain. The humanity that neither of you lost is what keeps you human."

He sighed. "Fine then, I was gettin' tired of holding stuff back anyways."

"Why don't we sit down," Erza suggested. Wendy and Natsu jumped, as they had almost forgotten about all of the others, but they nodded in agreement. They settled down on the floor of the common room, Lucy sitting directly across from Natsu.

"Well," Lucy deadpanned, "go on, storyteller."

"It's a long story," Natsu explained, "Like Wendy said, it started when she was born."

"We've got time," Lucy crossed her arms, "so you'd better tell it. I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but I'll find a way to fix you, even if it means a Lucy kick!" Natsu's eyes widened once more and he looked frantically around. Erza scowled at him, giving a nonverbal admonishment. Gray just smirked, showing that he would be more than happy to throw Natsu under the bus. Wendy just gave him an encouraging look, while Gajeel simply shrugged, like he didn't care.

Natsu growled. "Okay, okay... I get it. So uh... well, my mom died when Wendy was born. After that, things started going downhill. I'd get into fights more often, and uh- break stuff more. Yeah."

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "That was pathetic. Why don't you just let the kid handle it?"

"Fine then!" Natsu hissed, "and stop laughing at me, stripper!"

"How can I when you're acting so stupid?"

"You wanna go, droopy eyes?"

"I'll fight you!"

Erza stood up and forcefully whacked both boys on the head. They retreated, eyes dazed in pain. Wendy almost felt sorry for her brother. It would appear that Titania had taken the helm. "Stop fighting. _Now_."

"Uh... yes ma'am!"

Wendy sighed. "I probably _should_ do this. It was a difficult time. The plague that was going on around the time that I was born lasted for three years. The economy of Tenroujima was greatly weakened. Since woman were especially susceptible to the disease, many were left without mothers and in some cases, even their fathers. Natsu, Zeref and I were left without our mother. But, as you know, my er... condition made me think that I knew her quite well. I understood everything in her healing book and I was helping our Auntie, Porlyusica in the infirmary by the time I was three. Even worse, whenever someone died, I'd get horrible nightmares filled with... memories. That's all I can call it. Fragmented, dark, memories.

"Natsu did fight people a lot, more than he ever had, or so I was told. He also sought comfort in burning and breaking things. I guess it was one of the reasons that Igneel wasn't that popular anymore. He was the leader of Tenroujima, but he couldn't even keep his son in line. The kinder people didn't blame him though. We all did see Grandine die right in front of us. Natsu fought with Gajeel, who had lost both of _his_ parents to the plague. He also fought these boys called Sting and Rogue, they called themselves twins, but they weren't biologically. They were just born on the same day. They both lost their mothers to the plague as well.

"Zeref would blame our dad for everything that went wrong. I didn't understand it at the time, all I knew was that Zeref was very disappointed in Igneel. He kept getting more and more distant from the rest of. He actually went to the length of spending time with our father's rival, Acnologia. Igneel got more distant too.

"This old woman named Shagotte who ran a small orphanage with her grandchildren, Carla and Happy," Wendy patted Carla on the shoulder, "she died. She was a little on the weird side, she gave everyone a cat eared headband to match their hair. Acnologia didn't like her that much. He petitioned that the orphanage be done away with, and people started agreeing with him. So it was taken down, and Natsu and I took Happy and Carla in. Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue were among the few others.

"It was difficult, but we were by no means prepared for what happened next..."

* * *

 _Natsu rolled his eyes as a shriek came from his left. He looked down to see that Wendy had taken a tumble. Carla also took a spill and began sobbing loudly, she_ was _only one after all. Happy giggled from his place on Natsu's arm and Natsu grinned, taking the other arm to heft up his sister. Gajeel snickered and Panther Lily shot him a glance of disapproval. But everyone's faces drained of color when they noticed who Wendy had tripped over. The shoes of Acnologia._

 _"I-I'm so s-sorry," Wendy stammered as she scrambled to her feet, aided by Natsu and Carla._

 _Acnologia gave a growl. "Watch where you step, stupid girl," his expression was oddly distorted, half scowl, half smirk. "You don't want to end up like your relatives; your simpleminded imbecile of a father, weak sniveling mother, or_ God forbid _," he drawled, "that juvenile pighead brother._ _It would do for you to follow Zeref's example." Natsu glared at the man and made an instinctive move before Gajeel smacked his hand aside and stood firm in all his twelve-year-old glory, staring Apologia's pale, sinister eyes with his ferocious crimson ones._

 _"Zeref, an example?" he smirked back, "Don't make us laugh, old geezer. He hangs around with you, and he ignores everyone in his family to do it. He's just your minion. And that's why ya like him."_

 _"Be careful what you say, Redfox, isn't it?" he smirked right back, and the air around them all turned sharp with animosity and tension, "Your parents are long gone, which means you have no one to protect you. And Igneel is losing power, soon he will have no control over me. You foolish children have no idea what I'm capable of."_

 _"Oh yeah?" Gajeel challenged, his eyes holding a laugh like he knew_ exactly _what Acnologia was capable of, "I know that you were at least partially behind the deaths of Weisslogia Eucliffe and Skiadrum Cheney. Tell me, do you plot someone's murder every time they piss you off?"_

 _Everyone leaned back at the accusation, Acnologia for being exposed, fear spread like a sickly mask across his face; Natsu, Wendy and the others in shock. "How could you-"_

 _"Everyone says I'm a delinquent who liked making weird things with metal. But I see things, and I can see who you are. No good for anyone on Tenroujima. I'm especially focused on your dirty plans. You want to know what caused that. I overheard you say you were glad when my parents died. I see what you're doing."_

 _"Well I'm sorry, ruffian," Acnologia sneered, "I'm afraid someone like you can't stop me. But take my word for it, I'll make sure to prevent my reputation being sullied by the loose lips of you filthy brats."_

* * *

"I told them not to listen," Gajeel said quietly, "but it happened. I underestimated the bastard. We didn't bother saying anything to be safe, and things were quiet for about two weeks. Then Igneel went on a solo hunting trip.

"He never came back. They discovered him ripped in half, like he'd been attacked by a feral wolf. But I saw Acnologia disappear into that forest earlier, and I put two and two together. To this day, I'm still guilty. If I hadn't been mouthy around that ass, Igneel might've been there for them."

"And I keep saying that it's okay," Wendy consoled, "You were brave to stand up to him. It wasn't your fault that Dragneel is the unluckiest name in existence."

Lucy sighed, "I feel like we haven't even gotten to the bad part yet."

"Nope," Natsu responded.

"Well," Wendy sighed back, "I'll admit, it's good to get this out of my system again. It's like cancer, the feeling of being a weakling keeps coming back every time I get rid of it."

"In that case I suffered from unrelenting guilt for seven years," Lucy muttered.

"Should we continue now?" Wendy asked.

"No way! Have you been watching the time at all?" Carla chided, "It's getting quite late. We must get some sleep now."

Happy yawned, "You have a point."

And with that, the eight people sitting in their circle rose sleepily, drifting lazily towards their rooms, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

* * *

"Cana?" Lucy asked in awe; the brunette was sitting on her bed, sipping a liquid that was most likely alcoholic from her flask. The lamp on her side of the room was dimly lit, allowing Lucy to see Cana's violet eyes squinting intently through the doorway. "Why are you still awake."

"You don't get to have a late night drink with a spooky story like that very often!" she laughed.

"Really?" Lucy glanced at her skeptically before climbing into her bed, covering herself up to her neck with her blanket.

"Nah," Cana sighed, "They all had a really sucky life. I bet Natsu still has those nightmares."

"What nightmares?"

She cast her eyes downwards. "Let's just say that they're filled with the corpses of his parents, Happy and Wendy crying, and burning flesh."

"I really am starting to feel that I don't want to hear the rest of that story."

"Why do you want to know so much anyways?" Cana suddenly smirked suggestively, "Do you want to run a background check before you make a move on the idiot or something?"

"N-no way!" Lucy stammered, her face heating up slightly, "I have more important things to worry about. And even if that was on my mind, why him! He's absolutely insane and he has pink hair!"

"You were on the run for quite some time, right?" Lucy nodded, "Did you ever have any with the pervs?"

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, "yeah I did."

"I expected as much. Just warning you, Mirajane is probably cooking up some evil scheme already..."

"What do you mean?" Mirajane seemed kind and gentle, but she had been told that behind her pretty features was viciousness. Apparently it had lessened a bit after her sister had died though.

"Let's just say she's tried to get people together. She hasn't given up on Gray and Juvia yet. Unfortunately, things have only gotten more awkward with her crazy plans."

"Oh," Lucy understood now, "I uh... I think I'll get some sleep now." Cana nodded, and turned off her lamp but continued drinking.

Lucy was awake for a little bit, contemplating the things she had learned tonight, but eventually her thoughts gently lulled her into sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, let me just say, for all of you great people who read this amateur piece of literature, I'M SO VERY VERY VERY VERY SORRY! I pretty much completely lost inspiration and motivation on this. The cause: My stupid distracted brain and a whole barrage of self-hate induced depression. But I'm getting better! Still depressed, but better! I guess that's what you get when most of your friends are super intelligent beings and you're in your own little corner of weaboo trash. But whatever about that!**

 **I've decided that I want to take what I have so far and rewrite it to make it better(learn to expect this from me it happens all the time). I will try to have another improved chapter out every Sunday, every other week.**

 **For those other Sundays, I'm going to be trying something. For some reason, my mind forces me to look at some weird looking tree. Then it says: "You see that tree? You're gonna write a story inspired by that tree." I tell it to stop... but before I know it I have the general plot for a whole FREAKING story with assorted characters with half-finished backstories and personalities, settings, and random fluffy moments. And that is why my mind is so cluttered. So I have decided to make a story where I write a chapter of one of my crazy ideas.**

 **I will also be taking a week off during NaLu week as I have decided to participate this year! If you were wondering about romance in Asylum, I ship NaLu REALLY hard, but I'm severely lacking in the romance department, so no romance. Unless I get help, of course. I also will have a school vacation provided by my lovely Junior high school, so I won't be writing that week either.**

 **And that's it!**


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